Good News Agency – Year IV, n° 5
Weekly - Year IV, number 5 – 7
March 2003
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. Editorial research by Fabio Gatti. Good News Agency
is published in English on one Friday and in Italian the next. It 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.
It is a service of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della
Buona Volontà Mondiale, NGO associated with the United Nations Department of Public
Information.
International legislation – Human rights – Economy and development – Solidarity
Peace and security – Health – Energy
and Safety – Environment and wildlife
Religion and spirituality – Culture and education
Agreement reached on civil liability for damage caused
by industrial accidents on transboundary waters
Geneva, 28 February - Negotiations on a legally
binding instrument on civil liability and compensation for damage caused by the
transboundary effects of major industrial accidents involving hazardous
substances on transboundary waters came to a successful conclusion in Geneva
yesterday.
The instrument has been developed over the past 15
months under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
(UNECE), as a protocol to both the Convention on the Protection and Use of
Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes and the Convention on the
Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents. The proposal to draw up such a
legally binding instrument was first made in the wake of the accident at a
tailings dam at Baia Mare (Romania) in January 2000, when the spillage of
100,000 tons of waste water with highly toxic pollutants, including cyanide,
led to massive water pollution of the Tisza and the Danube Rivers.
The negotiating process was unique because it involved
all the stakeholders: the UNECE member countries, industry, the insurance
sector, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. The agreement
had been negotiated in a way to speed up its ratification. Its scope, its
limits of liability and its limit for financial guarantees are precise and
realistic. (...)
The Protocol
is expected to be formally adopted and signed at the forthcoming Ministerial
Conference “Environment for Europe” in Kiev, Ukraine, on 21 May 2003. The successful results of these
regional negotiations will be shared in March with a worldwide audience at the
third World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan. (...)
http://www.unece.org/press/pr2003/03env_p03e.htm
Sudan: Major step to implement humanitarian law
February 28 - Sudanese
President Omar al-Bashir signed a decree in February to set up a national
commission on international humanitarian law. The commission's creation is a major step toward
effective implementation of humanitarian law in Sudan, a country that has
suffered 19 years of internal conflict. Its task will be to advise and assist
the government in spreading knowledge of and applying international
humanitarian law, and thus meeting its international obligations. Effective
compliance with the law requires that governments take a series of legislative,
administrative and practical measures. They must adopt laws to ensure, for
example, that prisoners of war, wounded and sick combatants and civilians
benefit from the guarantees to which they are entitled.
The ICRC has long been actively engaged in promoting
knowledge of humanitarian law in Sudan, together with the mechanisms for its
implementation. The organization welcomes the new commission and will continue
to provide advice and technical assistance to the Sudanese government.
“Fundamentally we're all the same - look deeper”
15-23 March - European-wide action week against racism
March 21st was declared International Day for the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination by the General Assembly of
the United Nations as a reaction to the murder of 70 demonstrators in
Sharpeville, South-Africa, in 1960. During the annual European-wide Action
Week, which centers around 21 March, thousands of people actively engage
themselves for tolerance and equal rights. This year once again hundreds of
activities will take place all around Europe, organised by a wide variety of
organisations. Activities range from special TV programs to cleaning the walls
of racist slogans. (...)
At the UNITED conference in Bucuresti (Romania) in
2002, the participants discussed the European-wide Action Week Against Racism,
15-23 March 2003 and expressed their concerns about recent developments in
Europe regarding discrimination issues. (...)
The European campaign aims to raise awareness in all
relevant areas of society. Two main targets are the media and the general
public. (...) Think globally, act locally. Racism is not a local issue.
European campaigns can help set the agenda on all levels. We have to campaign
on local, regional and European level to get our point across. (...)
UNITED for Intercultural Action is the European
network against nationalism, racism, fascism and in support of migrants and
refugees.
http://www.united.non-profit.nl/pages/Info3_03.htm
World
agriculture towards 2030 - Final study published
Growth in
food production will be higher than population growth
Rome, 4 March - The world's population will be better fed by 2030, but hundreds of millions of people in developing countries will remain chronically hungry. This is one of the key messages of 'World agriculture: towards 2015/2030', FAO's latest global assessment of the long-term outlook for food and agriculture. It updates and extends the last FAO assessment made in 1995. (...)
The study says that the number
of hungry people is expected to decline from around 800 million today to about
440 million in 2030. This means that the target of the World Food Summit in
1996 to reduce the number of hungry by half by 2015, will not even be met by
2030.
"The report aims at describing
the future as it is likely to be," said Jelle Bruinsma, the editor of the
FAO report. "It does not describe the future as it ought to be nor does it
provide a development strategy for global agriculture. (...) We hope that
governments and the international community use the report as a basis for their
actions, to cope with both existing problems and with new ones that may
emerge." World agriculture: towards 2015/2030 - final and summary report:
http://www.fao.org/es/ESD/gstudies.htm
Village funds in Syria set to expand poverty reduction efforts
28 February - A network of 20 Village Development
Funds in the Jabal el-Hoss region, an arid region in northern Syria, is
expanding its efforts to reduce poverty. Set up by a UNDP pilot project, the
funds offer loans for income-generating activities (see Newsfront, 18 April 2002).
The new phase will help the funds establish a secure
legal status, shift management of the initiative to the communities and extend
it to 20 more villages. (...) Women initially accounted for 10 per cent of the
members in the funds, and this has grown to nearly half of the total membership
of more than 4,500. (...)
Japan has allocated US$1.5 million for the new phase
in a cost sharing arrangement with the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian
Reform, which is providing $775,000, and UNDP is contributing $50,000. The
launch of the second phase reflects the success of the pilot project. Full
legal status for the funds, said Nour Eddine Mouna, Minister of Agriculture and
Agrarian Reform, will also contribute to developing the country's finance
system. (...)
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
Natural Resource Management Project in Republic of Kenya receives
support from IFAD
Rome, 26 February - A loan agreement was signed today
at the headquarters of the International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD) by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Joseph Mbui Magari
and by Mr. Lennart Båge, President of IFAD. The loan, in an amount of USD 16.7
million, will support the financing of the USD 25.7 million ‘Mount Kenya East Pilot Project for
Natural Resource Management’. (...)
The overall goal of the project is to reduce poverty
by promoting the conservation of natural resources, better water management and
improved agricultural practices. Through support to the local initiatives
already emerging, the project will support better natural resource management
in river sub-basins through a combination of measures aimed at rationalising
water use, afforestation and improved agricultural practices to reduce erosion.
(...) About 360 000 people living in these districts will directly benefit from
the project.
With this project, IFAD will have financed 12 loan
projects in the Republic of Kenya, for a total loan amount of USD 121 million and
seven grant projects for a total of about USD 18 million.
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2003/19.htm
Government modernization in Brazil improves efficiency at every level
21 February - Brazil is carrying out major public
administration reforms at the federal, state and municipal levels, with
assistance from UNDP. These efforts aim to strengthen democratic governance by
improving fiscal management, transparency and the efficiency of public services.
More effective public administration at all levels is
an important aspect of government efforts to reduce glaring disparities that
leave about one in six of Brazil's 170 million people in poverty.
The reforms began in the late 1990s under the administration
of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, and the process is expected to continue
under the new administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
UNDP has supported the Ministry of Finance in
coordinating a fiscal management reform programme for 21 of the country's 26
states and the Federal District. (...) To support these activities, the
programme has disbursed US$230 million through UNDP Brazil since 1998 out of a
total budget of $320 million, with half funded by an Inter-American
Development Bank loan and half provided by the Government. UNDP is also supporting the
Ministry of Finance in helping 5,560 cities and towns manage municipal finances
and public services more effectively. (...)
http://www.undp.org/dpa/frontpagearchive/2003/february/21feb03/index.html
Top Business Leaders to Address WRI’S Sustainable Enterprise Summit, March 13-14
Wyndham City Center Hotel - 1143 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington,
DC
WRI’s Sixth Sustainable Enterprise Summit will showcase leading corporations
and strategic partnerships that have transformed vague concepts of
sustainability into concrete actions. Full agenda posted at www.wri.org/wrisummit.
The Sixth Sustainable Enterprise Summit will convene
more than 150 participants representing over 75 corporations and environmental
and governmental organizations. The Summit will highlight actions supporting
new “green” markets and strategies for preparing tomorrow’s business leaders to better manage for
sustainability.
Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ) will draw on his experience
inside and outside the beltway to address strategies for business and
government to work effectively towards a sustainable future.
WRI’s Green Power Market Development Group, a Sustainable Enterprise Program
project, will announce the addition of two new corporate members.
The World Resources Institute (http://www.wri.org/) is an environmental think tank that goes beyond research to create
practical ways to protect the Earth and improve people's lives.
http://newsroom.wri.org/advisory_text.cfm?MediaAdvisoryID=59
Azerbaijan: Cooperation improves health care for
disabled people
February 28 - As of
mid-February, disabled people in Azerbaijan have a new branch of the Prosthetic
and Orthotic Rehabilitation Centre – at Ganja, in
the west of the country.
The facility belongs to the Azerbaijani Ministry of
Labour and Social Protection of Population, but under a July 2002 agreement
between the Ministry and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the ICRC
part-funded its construction and has provided equipment and materials. Indeed,
the ICRC will be supplying enough materials and components during 2003 for 500
artificial limbs and orthotic appliances. In addition, the facility boasts two
ICRC-trained technicians qualified to international standards, guaranteeing
patients a high-quality service. (...) The ICRC is also to supply the
Nakhichevan branch of the Rehabilitation Centre with enough materials and
components for 150 artificial limbs and orthotic appliances, and will be
providing the branch with two machines.
ADRA Network responds to Ethiopian famine
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 27 – The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA)
office in Sweden received $307,000 in funding on February 17 from the Swedish
International Development Agency (SIDA) to be used in aid of famine victims in
Ethiopia.
The program to be implemented by ADRA in Ethiopia will
focus on providing emergency food aid to 30,000 people for three months.
Funding will also support the purchase of planting seeds to be supplied to
local farmers. In addition, 55 families will each be provided a pair of oxen
for use by their communities to improve agricultural production. Additional
funding from private donors in Sweden and ADRA International will supply food
to 10,000 people for two months.
Drought and resulting poor harvests have contributed
to the crisis that Ethiopia is currently facing. According to the Ethiopian
government, some 11 million people, or 17% of the population, are facing severe
food shortages in the country. Reports indicate the current Ethiopian crisis is
far worse than the droughts of 1984 and 2000.
http://www.adra.org/ADRANews/022703.html
IFAD to provide USD 29 million to People's Republic of China
Rome, 21 February - A loan agreement was signed today
at the headquarters of the International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD) by H.E. First Vice Minister Han Changfu, and by Mr. Lennart Båge,
President of IFAD. The loan, in an amount of USD 28.97 million, will help fund
the ‘Environment Conservation and
Poverty-Reduction Programme in Ningxia and Shanxi’, which is worth USD 90.31 million. The World Food
Programme is a co-financer of this programme with an equivalent of USD 7.28
million. (...)
During the development of the project, households were
consulted using participatory approaches and they requested assistance for
investments in production activities to raise their incomes and improve food
security. While the project participants are aware of opportunities available
with perennial cash crops, their lack of resources and know-how hampers
production. IFAD’s main objective in supporting this programme is to offer households
increased access to economic and social resources including financial services,
education, health and social networks.
With this project, IFAD will have financed 17 projects
in the People’s Republic of China, for a total loan amount of USD 429 million.
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2003/17.htm
Stop Hunger Now announces plan to fight hunger in Iraq
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, 19 February - Stop
Hunger Now, the Raleigh-based hunger relief organization, has launched the
20-4-4 Iraq Crisis Appeal to help relieve hunger in Iraq. Under the plan,
emergency food boxes can be prepared for $20, each of which can feed an Iraqi
family of four for four weeks. Stop Hunger Now has already established working
partnerships with two humanitarian organizations, the Middle East Council of
Churches and the Islamic Relief Association, to provide emergency food aid in
the region. (...)
Stop Hunger Now is already supplying emergency food
boxes to assist in food stockpiles at likely refugee camps in Jordan and is
providing emergency food aid in Iraq itself. More information on the 20-4-4
Iraq Crisis Appeal can be obtained by visiting the Stop Hunger Now web site at www.stophungernow.org, or by calling toll-free: 888.501.8440.
Established in 1998, Stop Hunger Now is a 501-(c)(3) international
relief organization that coordinates the distribution of emergency food and
life-saving aid worldwide. (...)
© 2002 InterAction
http://www.interaction.org/newswire/detail.php?id=1288
Latest
from
Rotary International
Polio Push - During March Rotary
clubs worldwide are preparing for a major fundraising push for the eradication
of Polio. On 1 July 2002, Rotary launched an $80 million fundraising drive to
help the Global Polio Eradication Initiative overcome the $275 million gap in
the funding needed to eradicate polio by 2005. The over 31,000 Rotary clubs
worldwide are challenged to take this opportunity to come up with some clever
ways to raise money and awareness for polio eradication.
RI President Bhichai Rattakul's third
Presidential Conference of Peace and Development will be held in Panama City,
Panama. This informative and interactive conference will provide insights on
many of today's most debated RI issues and concerns. Themes to be discussed
will include, among others: How Rotary Can Combat Poverty through Vocational
Training; Methods for Developing Rotary Micro-Enterprise Projects; Ensure
Sustainable Development While Preserving Planet Earth; Building Peace and
Understanding through the Rotary Centers.
“Promoting Peace and Security through Education and
Science: Elements for a UN Strategy against Terrorism”
February 28 - On 26 February 2003, the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr.
Koïchiro Matsuura, convened at the Organization’s Headquarters a meeting with the
representatives of United Nations sister agencies to identify a common approach
against terrorism by promoting peace and security through Education and
Science. (...) In his opening remarks Mr Koïchiro Matsuura encouraged the group
to think in terms of concentrating on existing programmes and their efficiency
rather than creating new programmes. (...) Stating that peace and security
should not be separated, the Director-General recalled UNESCO’s General Conference Resolution on
Terrorism reiterated the duty of the United Nations system to “address both sides of the terrorism
question in terms of its political as well as criminal nature”.
The participants agreed on the need to
concentrate their existing programmes on three interlocking areas in the field
of education. Aware of the challenge to devise ways of aiding national policy
makers to introduce textbook adjustments they agreed to focus on developing
national curricula frameworks with a human rights orientation, while addressing
the implications of globalization and determining the role of education in life
long learning efforts.
In the field of science a strong emphasis
was placed on the need for reinforcing ethical norms and creating codes of
conduct for scientists based on common concerns and values, it was agreed to
continue seeking opportunities to introduce the ethics of science into
education curricula. (...)
http://portal.unesco.org/ev.php?URL_ID=9961&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201&reload=1046604717
Thirty million mines that will never kill or maim a
civilian
February 28 - Close to 30
million stockpiled anti-personnel mines have been destroyed by the Ottawa
Convention's first deadline. Forty-four States Parties will have completely
destroyed their stocks on time for their 1 March 2003 deadline, which coincides
with the fourth anniversary of the Convention's entry into force.
March 1 marks the fourth anniversary of the Ottawa
Convention prohibiting anti-personnel mines. To date, 131 States Parties have
ratified or acceded to the Convention, committing themselves to the total
elimination of anti-personnel mines. These weapons kill and maim
indiscriminately, and most of their victims are civilians.
March 1 also represents the first landmark in the
process of implementing the Convention: by that date, 45 States Parties will
have to comply with their obligation to completely destroy their stockpiles of
anti-personnel landmines and with one exception all States have confirmed that
they will meet the deadline. With almost 30 million landmines destroyed in the
last four years, the Convention has passed its first big test with flying
colours.
Even more importantly, the Convention has had a
demonstrable effect on the ground over the same period. The number of new
landmine victims has decreased significantly – by as much as 60 to 70 percent in some areas where
the ICRC is present. (...)
February 28 - 124 U.S. cities
and counties have now passed resolutions opposing the war, along with both
houses of the Maine state legislature and the Hawaii House of
Representatives.
See the list!
February 21 - Los Angeles
passes a resolution!
February 13 - Council Members
from 30 of the 90 cities that have passed resolutions against war on Iraq
visited Washington.
Cities for Peace is a rapidly growing coalition of local elected officials and concerned citizens working to get their City Councils and other civic bodies to pass resolutions against a war on Iraq.
http://www.ips-dc.org/citiesforpeace/
Tokyo conference raises $50.7m for Afghan "guns to plows"
demobilization initiative
26 February - Donor countries, led by Japan, pledged
US$50.7 million at a conference in Tokyo last Saturday to consolidate peace in
Afghanistan by collecting weapons, demobilizing Afghan fighters and creating
jobs for them. UNDP will join with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan to
carry out the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programme in
partnership with the Afghanistan Transitional Administration. Support so far
has come from Japan, providing $35 million, and the US pledging $10 million,
the UK $3.5 million and Canada $2.2 million.
The Tokyo Conference on Consolidation of Peace (DDR)
in Afghanistan, "Change of Order - from Guns to Plows," hosted by the
Government of Japan, was attended by Hamid Karzai, President of the Afghanistan
Transitional Administration, Lakhdar Brahimi, Special Representative of the UN
Secretary-General for Afghanistan, and representatives of 34 countries and 12
international organizations.
The Afghanistan's New Beginnings Programme will help
collect weapons and offer former army soldiers and provincial militia fighters
alternative sources of income in return for demobilizing. Among the main
prospective participants are middle ranking militia commanders, who still
control many communities. (...)
http://www.undp.org/dpa/frontpagearchive/2003/february/26feb03/index.html
With the Statement “War: A
Crime Against Humanity” the Club of Budapest is launching a debate on the right
of national states to declare and wage war as a means of settling issues of
foreign policy.
“Times are over when questions
of war and peace could be decided in the context of international power
politics,” says Ervin Laszlo, President of the Club of Budapest, a global
think-and-action tank with a hundred members including the Dalai Lama, Mikhail
Gorbachev, Archbishop Tutu, Elie Wiesel, Peter Ustinov and others. “Right
cannot be decided by might, in the international field any more than in the
personal domain. In an interdependent global community every war between
nations is fundamentally a civil war.”
Terrorists and potential aggressors must be stopped, but war is not the
way to stop them. Warfare must be replaced by dialogue leading to mutual
understanding as a basis of multilateral cooperation in regard to relations
among nations in the political as well as in the economic and the ecological
spheres. (...)
The Statement is signed by
Members of the Club of Budapest inter
alia Sir Peter Ustinov, Paolo Coelho, Pir Inayat-Vilayat Khan, Zubin Mehta,
Betty Williams, Hans Küng, Sir Sigmund Sternberg, Jane Goodall, Peter Russell,
Vigdis Finnbogadottir, and Lady Fiona Montagu and is included in the Club of
Budapest web site.
http://www.club-of-budapest.com/borders-start-e.htm
World
Peace Forum - Sydney, Australia, 29 March 2003
The Earth Charter will be the
central theme for the World Peace Forum to be held in Sydney, Australia
The World Peace Forum 2003
will be a day of inspiration and practical outcomes. Leading speakers from
Australia and around the world will reflect on the principles of the United
Nations Earth Charter and Mahatma Gandhi’s peace philosophy and how these can
be practically applied to settle present conflicts & environmental crises
and ensure a culture of peace - peace between individuals, peace between
communities, peace between nations.
The outcome will be a
Resolution taken to Canberra; plus you will be provided with practical ideas
and vehicles to ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.' The day includes
an exhibition of the peace-inspired work of Australian humanitarian,
environmental, spiritual, and community groups. The Initiator of the World
Peace Forum is His Holiness Vishwaguru
Mahamandaleshwar Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda
The Earth Charter is an
authoritative synthesis of values, principles, and aspirations that are widely
shared by growing numbers of men and women in all regions of the world. The
principles of the Earth Charter reflect extensive international consultations
conducted over a period of many years. These principles are also based upon
contemporary science, international law, and the insights of philosophy and
religion. Successive drafts of the Earth Charter were circulated around the
world for comment and debate by non governmental organizations, community
groups, professional societies, and international experts in many fields.
http://www.worldpeaceforum.org.au/
A Season For Nonviolence
(1998-2003)
With the exemplary commitment
of task force leaders and volunteers, A Season for Nonviolence, January 30-
April 4, 1998-03 has attained unanticipated goals in a 64 day
educational, media and grassroots campaign inspired by the 50th and 30th
memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Launching on the January 30th
memorial anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, A Season for Nonviolence draws to a
close on each year on the King April 4th memorial, having seeded since 1998
substantial activity in 115 cities in 40 states, and 10 countries. Fifty
percent of our United States governors, and many mayors issued official
proclamations for the 64 day period, and over three hundred unique events and
programs have been developed and carried out at the local level during the
Season.. Media coverage includes radio and television broadcasts, PSA and film
productions, and print publications at all levels from local to national press.
At least 350 major Peace organizations, religious, business, arts, and learning
institutions have elected themselves as official co-sponsors of the Season for
Nonviolence initiative.
UNFPA welcomes projection of slower population growth; calls for greater
efforts to counter HIV/AIDS, meet needs of poorest countries
United Nations, New York, 27 February – UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, welcomes
the news that fertility reductions are helping to slow global population
growth, which was confirmed yesterday by a report of the Population Division of the United Nations
Secretariat.
According to World Population Prospects: The 2002
Revision, the world’s numbers will increase from today’s 6.3 billion to 8.9 billion by 2050. This means a
smaller increase of 2.6 billion, instead of the 3 billion projected two years
ago. Nearly all of the projected growth will occur in developing countries.
About half of the difference in growth projections is due to lower expectations
of future fertility rates, the number of births a woman is expected to have in
her lifetime.
“However,” World Population Prospects cautions, “the realization of these projections is contingent on
ensuring that couples have access to family planning and that efforts to arrest
the current spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic are successful in reducing its
growth momentum.”
The revised projections also reflect a more dire
assessment of the impact of HIV/AIDS, highlighting the urgent need for more
global action to prevent the spread of the pandemic as well as to treat and
care for HIV/AIDS-affected people, especially in developing countries. About
half of the reduction in projected population growth rate “results from an increase in the number of projected
deaths, the majority stemming from higher levels of HIV prevalence. (...)
http://www.unfpa.org/news/2003/pressroom/population_report.htm
Feeding hope: nutrition plays key role in HIV/AIDS care
FAO/WHO publish new manual for people living with HIV/AIDS
25 February, Geneva/Rome-- A good diet is
one of the simplest means of helping people live with HIV/AIDS and may even
help delay the progression of the deadly virus, two UN agencies said today. A
new manual published jointly by FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO)
recognizes the relationship between infection and nutrition and offers simple
and practical dietary suggestions for the estimated 42 million people living
with HIV/AIDS.
By bolstering the immune system and
boosting energy levels, balanced nutrition can help the body fight back against
the ravages of the disease. By maintaining body weight a good diet can support
drug treatments and prevent malnutrition. (...)
Almost 95 percent of people with HIV/AIDS
live in developing countries where healthcare, resources and drugs are scarce.
For them a balanced diet is a positive way of responding to the illness.
"Food isn't a magic bullet. It won't stop people dying of AIDS,"
William Clay of FAO's Food and Nutrition Division said, "But it can help
them live longer, more comfortable and more productive lives." (...)
http://www.fao.org/english/newsroom/news/2003/13560-en.html
HIV vaccine trial results are an important step forward in developing an
effective vaccine, say WHO and UNAIDS
WHO/UNAIDS HIV Vaccine Initiative Calls for
Accelerated Research to Build on Trial Accomplishments
Geneva, 24 February - Preliminary results of a
large-scale trial of a candidate AIDS vaccine announced today by the US-based
biotechnology company VaxGen suggest that it is possible to protect some
individuals from HIV infection. The trial of the company's AIDSVAX vaccine
appears to show a protective effect among non-Caucasian populations, especially
African Americans, although sample sizes were small. However, for the majority
of the participants, who were Caucasians, the effect of the vaccine was
minimal. The company stressed, however, that the results announced today only
represent findings from an initial analysis. Additional studies will be
conducted over the coming weeks to further clarify the data. (...)
This trial vaccine is a promising first step, but an
effective vaccine providing widespread protection is still not on the horizon.
The AIDSVAX Phase III trial was the first large-scale human trial of an HIV
vaccine. (...) The vaccine used in this trial was designed to reduce
susceptibility to infection with HIV subtype B, which is prevalent in the
Americas, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. To date, eleven subtypes
of HIV-1 have been identified. One of the major challenges in HIV vaccine
development is to develop one or multiple vaccines effective against all major
subtypes of HIV. (...)
http://www.unaids.org/whatsnew/press/eng/VaxGen240203_en.html
MSF launches emergency intervention in the north of the Central African
Republic
Following three months of complete isolation, the population will at
last receive medical assistance
Bangui, 24
February - Three months after the
fighting broke out, the humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières
(MSF) has been able to launch its activities in a more permanent way in
northern territory of the Central African Republic (CAR), an area controlled by
General François Bozizé's troops.
Ever since the attempted coup perpetrated by General
Bozizé on October 25th last year, the North of the country has been totally cut
off from humanitarian relief organisations. After several assessment missions
in January, MSF is the only international organisation to work with the
isolated population in this part of the country. (...) The MSF mobile teams
undertake consultations at the already existing health structures in these
towns, while organizing an epidemiological surveillance system. Moreover, the
possibility to launch an emergency surgical intervention will also be assessed.
(...)
In towns such as Bossembelé and Damara, in the
country's central-southern area, the populations hiding in the bush come out to
our clinic in search of medical care. "They are frightened and weak and we
fear a rapid deterioration of their health condition" Raquel Ayora, one of
the MSF volunteers in charge of the operations in the Central African Republic,
has stated.
Launch of first comprehensive gender and HIV/AIDS web portal
New communication tool advances UNIFEM and UNAIDS
commitment to reversing epidemic
United Nations, New York , 21 February - A new gender
and HIV/AIDS web portal launched today, will provide researchers, policy-makers
and practitioners access to cutting edge information at their fingertips.
Developed by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), in
collaboration with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the
portal is a one-stop online resource center on the gender dimensions of the
HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Globally, 50 per cent of adults living with HIV/AIDS
are women. The epidemic disproportionately affects women and adolescent girls
who are socially, culturally, biologically and economically more vulnerable,
and who shoulder the burden of caring for the sick and dying. (...)
The web portal will be a constantly evolving,
multi-dimensional and dynamic virtual space that promotes understanding, knowledge-sharing,
and action on HIV/AIDS as a gender and human rights issue. User-friendly,
informative and interactive, the site offers research, training materials,
surveys, advocacy tools, current news and opinion pieces by leading experts,
and women's stories from the field. Plans are also underway to house an experts
database, which will serve as a technical and networking vehicle for national
and global gender and HIV/AIDS specialists.
Please visit the gender and HIV/AIDS web portal at http://www.GenderandAIDS.org
http://www.unaids.org/whatsnew/press/eng/UNIFEM210203_en.html
WHO launches annual Move for Health day as global initiative to promote
benefits of physical activity
Geneva, 17 February 2003 - World Health Organization
(WHO) today launched Move for Health as an annual global initiative to promote
physical activity as essential for health and well-being. Announcing the move
at the first International Conference for Sport and Development, in Magglingen,
Switzerland, WHO Director General Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland said the initiative
reflected Member State concerns that the increasing chronic disease problems
caused by unhealthy diet and physical inactivity should not be addressed in
isolation.
“Following last year’s very successful World Health Day, the World Health
Assembly urged Member States to celebrate a “Move for Health” day each year to promote physical activity as
essential for health and well-being,” says Dr Brundtland. (...) Move for Health is part of
a broader WHO initiative to address the growing burden of chronic diseases
through its Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, also
mandated by the 55th WHA (May 2002). (...)
These initiatives are strongly backed by findings of
the 2002 World Health Report, which lists physical inactivity among the main
risks contributing to global chronic disease morbidity and mortality along with
unhealthy diet and tobacco use. (...)
The solution to producing health, social and economic
benefits from physical activity to all population groups is simple - at least
30 minutes moderate-intensity physical activity daily. (...)
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/releases/2003/pr15/en/
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Chlorine
producers unveil sustainability goals
February 27- At a conference in Brussels
(24-25 February), European chlorine producers unveiled the industry's
first-ever sustainability performance indicators.
"In 2001, Euro Chlor members agreed
to adopt six quantitative measures to ensure a united industry commitment to
sustainability", explained Euro Chlor Executive Director Dr Barrie S.
Gilliatt. "During the past year, considerable effort has been invested in
turning these into 14 concretes, measurable targets." At the conference
("Lightening chlorine's footprint... steps to sustainability"), NGOs,
regulators and industry debated how the industry could continue efforts to
address environmental and social challenges whilst ensuring economic viability.
For full information, please read Euro Chlor's press release.
Clothing from
cornfields
February 25 - Hard to imagine yourself
wearing clothes made of corn? This should however soon be possible, thanks a
DuPont innovative method that uses corn to produce the latest polymer for
application in clothing, carpets and automobile interiors.
“Until now, most fibres have been produced
using a petroleum-based process”, DuPont scientist Dr. Scott Nichols said. “Now, after seven years of research in
conjunction with Genencor International, we have honed a bio-based process,
using renewable resources like corn.”
Advantages go beyond recyclability.
Indeed, this new fibre has a softer feel and supports easier, as well as
offering more versatile dyeability with excellent washfastness and UV
resistance. Tempted by the new trend? It is now only a matter of time: the
DuPont company expects to announce transition plans to the new bio-based
process later this year. Full details at DuPont’s website.
Kenya joins world-wide pollution monitoring network
Inauguration of Nairobi Ground Station
Signals New International Effort to Save the Ozone Layer and Track Pollution
Plumes Across the Globe
Nairobi, 27 February - Nairobi has become
a key lynch-pin in an international effort to monitor the repair of the ozone
layer, the Earth’s protective shield, and pollution from events such as
forest fires and charcoal burning. A high-tech monitoring station has been
installed that can detect ozone, emitted from the East African part of the
Tropics and formed from sources such as industry, transport, agriculture and
the burning of biomass. (...)
One of the key roles of the new station,
which was inaugurated today, is to help unravel the fate of ozone damaging
chemicals produced in the region from both human-made and natural sources such
as vegetation. (...)
The Nairobi Validation Station , the first
of its kind in Tropical and sub tropical Africa and installed within the
grounds of UNEP at Gigiri, is part of a network which includes the recently
launched European Space Agency ENVISAT satellite. The network includes other
stations in places like Germany and Svaalbard in the Arctic and an aircraft
known as Falcon which is currently criss-crossing the globe taking airborne
observations. (...)
http://www.unep.org/Documents/Default.asp?ArticleID=3444&DocumentID=284
Adrienne Bloch Wins Sutherland Fellowship
Winner fights for
environmental justice as an attorney with Communities for a Better Environment
Oakland, California,
USA, 24 February - Earthjustice today announced that The Rick Sutherland Fellow for 2003
is Adrienne Bloch, an attorney with Communities for a Better Environment in
Oakland, California. The fellowship is awarded each year to assist young
lawyers, recently out of law school, who want to work in public-interest
positions but cannot afford to do so because of law school debt and general
financial hardship. (...) The award carries a cash stipend of up to $12,000 a
year for two years. It is financed in part by contributions from Earthjustice
staff members. (...) “Earthjustice and the Sutherland Fellowship Fund are honored to help Ms.
Bloch devote her considerable talents and energies to the fight for environmental
justice,” commented Elizabeth Sutherland, chair of the fellowship committee.
Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law firm
dedicated to protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife
of this earth and to defending the right of all people to a healthy
environment. We bring about far-reaching change by enforcing and strengthening
environmental laws on behalf of hundreds of organizations and communities.
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=546
European, American Christians take peace message to
Capitol Hill February 27, 2003
By Robert Marus
Washington (ABP – Associated Baptist
Press) -- Christian leaders from Europe and America have brought a musical
message to the halls of Congress that they haven’t been allowed to sing yet at the White House: “Dona nobis pacem” -- "Give us peace.” A chorus of
that ancient Latin hymn opened a Feb. 26 press briefing in a Senate hearing
room. Speakers at the briefing included American clergy from several
denominations and their European counterparts from countries that are members
of the United Nations Security Council. The leaders are opposed to a
pre-emptive American war against Iraq at the present time. (...)
Although the leaders and the churches with which they
are associated have had or have scheduled meetings with world leaders such as
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, and
Russian President Vladimir Putin, so far the White House has not responded to
their Jan. 30 request to meet with President Bush. (...)
http://www.cbfnet.org/newsstand/abpstory.cfm?newsid=3473
Prize-giving ceremony for 2003 L’ORÉAL-UNESCO 'Women in science' awards
27 February - The 2003 L’ORÉAL-UNESCO Awards were given today to
five outstanding women scientists during a ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters in
Paris. At the ceremony, which marked the fifth anniversary of the L’ORÉAL-UNESCO “For Women in Science” programme, 15 young scientific
researchers received the annual UNESCO - L’ORÉAL fellowships. The awards, presented
by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of L’ORÉAL, Lindsay Owen-Jones, and
Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, recognized for the first time
women working in the field of the material sciences. Five laureates in the
material sciences, in addition to fifteen fellowships in the life sciences,
were honoured at the event. This year’s awards bring to 71 the number of women,
from 45 countries, who have been honoured by the programme. (...)
http://portal.unesco.org/ev.php?URL_ID=9945&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201&reload=1046604717
What best prepares teachers for success? University of Dayton dean
co-chairs five-year statewide study
Dayton, Ohio, USA, 27 February -- The University of
Dayton, University of Cincinnati and The Ohio State University are leading a
five-year statewide study that will recommend ways to better prepare teachers
by better understanding the success of different types of teacher preparation
practices. The "Ohio Partnership for Accountability: The Impact of Teacher
Education" study is initially funded by the Ohio Department of Education,
Procter & Gamble and the Ohio Board of Regents and has the support of Ohio
Gov. Bob Taft and a variety of Ohio professional education associations.
"It will be the only research of its type in the country and can serve as
a model for teacher education reform," said Thomas Lasley, dean of the
School of Education and Allied Professions at the University of Dayton. (...)
In the study, researchers will measure the success of
teachers who've received certification through alternative licensure programs.
They will also team up with BattelleforKids, an Ohio organization that promotes
education reform, to analyze which teaching methods are most effective in the
classroom by studying teachers whose students continuously improve over the
course of a year. (...)
http://www.udayton.edu/news/nr/022703.html
ADRA Tajikistan receives school reconstruction grant
Dushanbe, Tajikistan, February 25 – On February 12, 2003, the Adventist Development and
Relief Agency (ADRA) office in Tajikistan received a grant from the Government
of Japan for a school reconstruction project benefiting 1,500 children in Garm,
part of the poorest region in Tajikistan. Construction is set to begin on April
1, 2003 and finish by the beginning of the academic year, September 1, 2003. (...)
Currently, the strategy of Tajikistan’s Ministry of Education and the development focus of
many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in that country is aimed
at the education of women and inhabitants of mountain regions of the country.
This is ADRA Tajikistan’s first education project. (...)
http://www.adra.org/ADRANews/022503.html
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