Good News Agency – Year V, n° 2
Weekly - Year V, number 2 – 6 February
2004
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
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media in 48 countries, as well as to 2,500 NGO and service associations.
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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
Landmark
United Nations Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants enters into force
Vienna, 27 January (UN Information Service) - The Protocol against the Smuggling of
Migrants by Land, Air and Sea, supplementary to the United Nations Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime, will enter into force on 28 January
2004. It is a landmark for the fight against the smuggling of migrants and
another milestone to the global effort to combat transnational organized crime.
This Protocol
provides the international community with new tools to confront the smuggling
of migrants. It defines the smuggling of migrants as “the procurement, in order
to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of
the illegal entry of a person into a State Party of which the person is not a
national or a permanent resident.” (…) This tool has been designed to
strengthen the international community’s response in countering transnational
organized crime groups and their highly sophisticated networks to smuggle
migrants, exploiting human misery and making sizeable criminal profits in the
process.
The Protocol aims to
criminalize the smuggling of migrants and those who practise it, while
recognizing that illegal migration itself is not a crime and that migrants are
often victims needing protection. Under the Protocol, governments agree to make
migrant smuggling a criminal offence under national laws, adopt special
measures to crack down on migrant smuggling by sea, boost international
cooperation to prevent migrant smuggling, and seek out and prosecute offenders.
(…) The Protocol is furthermore an important international instrument in the
area of international cooperation on criminal justice matters following the
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, which entered into force on
29 September 2003, and its Protocol against Trafficking in Persons, which entered
into force on 25 December 2003. (…)
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press_release_2004-01-27_1.html
30 January - At the ICRC’s
initiative, mental health professionals from the Georgian Centre for the
Rehabilitation of Torture Victims, a non-governmental organization, provided
psychological counselling for the families of missing persons for the first
time on 21-22 January. Under expert guidance, the 20 participants – mainly
mothers of the missing – took advantage of the session to express their
anguish. New sessions are scheduled for the coming months.
In the course of its work to
support the commissions set up in Georgia and Abkhazia to deal with the issue
of missing persons – by providing technical assistance for exhumation and
identification of mortal remains – the ICRC has become increasingly concerned
about the needs of the families of the missing, people who have long awaited
information about loved ones whose whereabouts are unknown.
In December 2003, the Georgian
rehabilitation centre signed a memorandum of understanding with the ICRC to set
up a programme to help the families deal with the psychological, social and
other effects of their situation, in particular by setting up a referral system
for collective or individual care. (…)
Geneva, 28 January (ILO News)
- What is the projected cost of eliminating child labour worldwide? How will
global society benefit - especially developing and transitional economies? For the first time, these and other
questions are answered in a new ILO (International Labour Organization) study
entitled "Investing in Every Child: An Economic Study of the Costs and
Benefits of Eliminating Child Labour" prepared by the ILO's International
Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC).
This new report will be
launched in Geneva on 3 February (…) Copies of the report will be available to
the media in hard copy and PDF format through ILO offices in Abidjan, Bangkok,
Beirut, Geneva, Lima, London, Manila, Moscow and Washington. An executive
summary of the report is available in Arabic, English, French, German,
Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. (…)
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2004/3.htm
Italian
Anti-Mafia Bureau and the Nigerian Attorney General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice sign the “Memorandum of Understanding” in Rome
Vienna, 21 January (UN
Information Service) – (…) The
Memorandum has been signed within the framework of the “Programme of Action
against Trafficking in Minors and Young Women from Nigeria into Italy for the
Purpose of Sexual Exploitation” that the United Nations Interregional Crime and
Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) is presently finalizing. The Programme is a
joint initiative of UNICRI and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC), funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The main objective
of the programme is to contribute to the formulation and implementation of
effective policies in the field of criminal justice and social prevention to
curb human trafficking practices. (…)
On the occasion of the
ceremony of the official signature, RAI (Radio Televisione Italiana) at its
headquarters in Rome presented the results of the anti-trafficking programme
achieved so far, as well as the TV spot “Let us help them to free themselves
from slavery”. The TV spot was produced, as part of the information campaign
and as one of the many activities carried out with the collaboration of RAI and
UNICRI. That initiative is also well placed to promote the 2004 International
Year of the United Nations to commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its
Abolition. (…)
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press_release_2004-01-21_1.html
January 22 - This week the ICRC launched a major
agricultural programme designed to benefit 30,000 families (some 150,000
people) over the coming six months. (…) The purpose of this programme is to
enable residents and returnees to earn a living and thereby to help restore
their dignity. For many of them, this will be the first time in years that they
have been able to sow and harvest their fields. (…)
Since the war ended in early
August, the focus of ICRC assistance programmes has shifted from the displaced
and resident population in and around Monrovia to residents and returnees in
the country's 15 counties. In addition to its agricultural assistance
programme, the ICRC is currently involved in activities to protect civilians
and people deprived of their freedom, restore family links, assist internally
displaced persons and other vulnerable residents, improve access to safe
drinking water, provide medical care and spread knowledge of international
humanitarian law. The ICRC also provides support for and cooperates with the
Liberia National Red Cross Society.
FAO
asks for $25.5 million to finance development projects in main poppy producing
areas
Rome, 2 February - Eliminating opium production in Afghanistan will only be
successful if poverty and unemployment are reduced at the same time, the UN
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today. FAO is requesting $25.5
million to finance agricultural development projects over the next five years
in four main poppy producing provinces -- Badakhshan, Helmand, Kandahar and
Nangarhar, targeting around 1.5 million people. (…)
FAO proposed a set
of interventions that could create alternative income opportunities and reduce
the dependence on poppy production. FAO's proposal is based on the National
Drug Control Strategy. (…)
Afghanistan is the
world's largest opium producer, providing almost three-quarters of global opium
production. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), poppy
production amounted to 3 600 tonnes in 2003. Recent trends indicate that poppy
cultivation is spreading further into remote areas. Around 1.7 million people,
7 percent of the population, are directly involved in poppy production.
Poppy is only
produced on approximately 1 percent (around 80 000 ha in 2003) of the total
arable land in the country.
30 January - More than 60
women in Horana, a village 40 kilometers south of Sri Lanka's capital Colombo,
are broadening the diversity of plant and animal life and providing raw
material for traditional weaving by reintroducing reeds and rushes in small
rice paddies. The Committee for People's Rights, a civil society group, began
the initiative five years ago with support from the UNDP Global Environment
Facility Small Grants Programme. Now the project has made it as one of 26
finalists for the Equator Prize 2004 that on 19 February will honour six
outstanding community efforts to improve livelihoods and conserve biodiversity
in tropical countries.
Traditionally paddies had
areas where reeds and rushes grew, absorbing excess salinity and providing a
home for many species, including birds, fish, insects and micro-organisms. The
"green revolution" during the 1960s and 1970s relied on chemicals to
boost rice harvests, but disrupted natural cycles and affected biodiversity,
soil fertility and rural traditions.
(…)
The women are re-establishing
typical small plots with paddies, reed beds and home gardens as economically
viable for households. Small ponds are added to create habitats for rare fresh
water fish and flowering plants. So far, 20 farmers have received training in
turning fallow fields into such productive plots. (…)
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
29 January - Eight towns in
the famous central Italian region of Tuscany have created an international
cooperation agency called Adelante ("Forward" in Spanish) to link
with towns in Cuba and eventually elsewhere in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The decentralized support
strategy for human development, launched with UNDP last week in Havana, is the
towns' direct contribution to the Millennium Development Goals.
In one year they have raised
US$1.25 million to support development activities from a small levy on their
public water supply system. Adelante will use the towns' financial and
technical resources to help Cuban communities reach the Millennium goals.
Cooperating in these efforts is UNDP Cuba's Local Level Human Development
Programme, which has enabled communities to improve their lives and
livelihoods. The initiative aims to replace the traditional donor-recipient
model with one of partnership and cooperation among communities. (…)
http://www.undp.org/dpa/frontpagearchive/2004/january/29jan04/index.html
New
global award launched in Mumbai and Davos
Mumbai/Davos, 21 January – In
India, a network of women slum dwellers is collaborating with UK engineers and
a French water company to improve water delivery in their communities. In
Ecuador, a consortium of European companies is working with the government and
coffee farmers to ensure pesticides don’t contaminate water supplies. In South
Africa, a small business owner is working with women’s cooperatives and the
government to test market solar technologies in rural areas. Such stories are
the type of innovative “partnership” that will be the focus of a new global
award initiative, “The Seed Awards”, launched today at the World Social Foum in
Mumbai and the World Economic Foum in Davos.
The Seed (supporting
entrepreneurs in environment and development) Awards,” aim to reward people and
organisations that are working together in partnership, the innovators in our
world that are forging new strategies for the sustainable use of our natural
resources. (…)
A key aspect of the new
initiative is that it will not award outcomes, but rather innovative
partnership proposals. Award winning partners – whether they are community
groups, businesses, workers organisations or local authorities - will receive
support in developing business plans, seeking funding and setting up
partnerships. (…)
Coffee
crisis: FAO helps Nicaragua's small-scale growers
Seeds
and basic tools for 3 000 of the worst-affected coffee producers
20 January, Rome/Managua --
FAO will work with the Nicaraguan Government to assist small-scale coffee
growers hit by the global crisis in coffee prices, the Organization said today.
(…)
Falling international coffee
prices have damaged the economy of the Central American country, largely
dependent on coffee, by reducing income, employment and food security for
thousands of families in the rural sector.
(…) With production expenses currently higher than commercial value and
a credit system riddled with debt, many farmers have been forced to abandon
their coffee plantations. (…) The country's authorities have requested FAO
assistance to safeguard the food security of some 3 000 of the worst-affected
coffee-producing families in the Matagalpa and Jinotega regions, where much of
the country's coffee is typically grown.
In the Matagalpa region FAO
will also assist the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to create an
income-generating programme to improve and diversify coffee production,
initially for those living in the Rancho Grande and El Tuma-La Dalia areas.
These programmes will then be introduced in other regions. (…)
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2004/35687/index.html
30 January, Chandigrah, India
- The Post Graduate Institute in
Chandigrah welcome today five Pakistani children, aged between four and five
years, who will undergo open heart surgery there. These very young patients,
who are natives of Pakistan's Sindh province, were met at the Wagah border by members of the Rotary Club of Chandigarh
Midtown.
A committee organized by
Rotary Club in Pakistan studied the economic and social background of the
children, besides analyzing their health condition before their names were
recommended for surgery at PGI, said Rotary governor Kawal Bedi (district
3080). The project in Pakistan Rotary District 3270 is operated by Rotarian
Muhammad Ayub, chairman of the Gifts of Life there.
The cost of this initiative of
solidarity and care, within the Gifts of Life project launched in 1999, amounts
to USD 100,000 and is covered by contributions from Rotary Clubs in Germany ($12,000) and Japan ($13,000), from
the Rotary Chandigarh Midtown's governor's fund ($13,000) and through the local
Rotary members’ personal initiative ($12,000). The amount collected was then
doubled by the Rotary Foundation under the ‘matching grant’ scheme. For further
information: Muhammad Ayub drayub_ayub@yahoo.com
Rome, 27 January - Marathon
world record holder Paul Tergat joined the race to defeat global hunger on
Wednesday when he was appointed ‘Ambassador Against Hunger’ by James T.Morris,
the Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme. Tergat, who
received food aid as an eight-year-old school child in Kenya’s Rift Valley,
will use the high-profile platform of international athletics to raise awareness
of WFP’s school feeding programme. (…)
Tergat is currently the
world’s fastest man over 26 miles, but as a hungry child in the drought- and
poverty-ridden district of Baringo, Kenya’s marathon man struggled to make the
three-mile trek to school. Paul’s life changed in 1977, when WFP started
distributing free school lunches at his Riwo Primary School. “Without food, it
was very difficult to walk to school, let alone concentrate on our studies.
WFP’s lunches made it easier for us to make the most of our education,” said
Tergat. “A full meal was also the perfect incentive to keep us in the
classroom.”
For 30 years, WFP school
feeding programmes have kept generations of children globally coming back for
more. For a child suffering from hunger, going to school is not important;
having enough food to eat is. Research shows that school feeding dramatically
increases school attendance and boosts performance in the classroom. (…)
UNDP’s
“With Africa Against Poverty” banner handed over to Tunisian President at
opening of the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia
Tunis, 26 January - The Africa
Cup of Nations football tournament began here this week with a campaign
supported by participating national teams and governments to raise public
awareness on the need to accelerate the fight against poverty and the spread of
HIV/AIDS.
Throughout the three-week
tournament, which began on 23 January, billboards of “Africa 2015”, a
communications initiative sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), are being displayed in the five stadiums of the cities hosting the
games. UNDP video spots on poverty and AIDS are also being shown on the giant
screens in towns where people assemble to watch the games. On Saturday, UNDP
Associate Administrator Zéphirin Diabré handed over to President Zine
El-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia a replica of the “With Africa Against Poverty”
banner on Saturday as 60,000 spectators packed Rades stadium to witness the
opening ceremony of the Africa Cup of Nations.
The banner bearing an appeal
from UNDP and the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), was displayed in
the stadium by 10 of the 200 ball boys wearing “Africa 2015” track suits with
the UNDP logo and slogans on the fight against AIDS and poverty. The Millennium
Development Goals will be highlighted in Arabic, English and French during the
tournament. (…)
http://www.undp.org/dpa/pressrelease/releases/2004/january/26jan04.html
January 21 - German Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder today pledged to increase his country's support for
UN-HABITAT threefold to 500,000 euros for core funding to the agency over and
above German support for specific project programmes. Mr. Schroeder, on his
first official visit to Africa, made the pledge during a meeting with
UN-HABITAT’s Executive Director, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka and other senior officials
at the United Nations office in Nairobi.
Mrs. Tibaijuka, who thanked
him for Germany’s continued support, highlighted the challenges of urban
poverty in a rapidly urbanising world, especially in Africa’s growing slums.
She also explained the agency’s coordinating role in helping governments
achieve the Millennium Development Goals of significantly improving the lives
of 100 million slum dwellers by 2020, and of halving the number of people who
lack access to safe water and sanitation by 2015. (…)
http://www.unhabitat.org/chancellor_schroeder.asp
H.R.H.
Prince Talal donates one million dollars to UNESCO solidarity fund for safe
water at close of International Year of Freshwater
20 January - UNESCO’s Special
Envoy for Water, H.R.H. Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, announced the
donation of one million dollars to the Solidarity Fund for Safe Water for All
as UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura formally closed the International
Year of Freshwater (2003) at Headquarters.
This is the first donation* to
the Solidarity Fund, approved by UNESCO’s General Conference in November 2003.
H.R.H. Prince Talal made the donation on behalf of AGFUND (Arab Gulf Programme
for United Nations Development Organization). The Prince is president of
AGFUND, which has contributed more than $24 million to 68 UNESCO projects and
has supported more than 900 development and humanitarian projects with diverse
partners, including 32 water-related projects worth $31 million. (…)
26 January - Donors have
pledged US$1.03 billion over three years to strengthen peace and security,
promote reconciliation and spur development in Burundi. The pledges came at a
forum that the Government of Belgium and UNDP organized in Brussels earlier
this month.
International efforts to help
resolve a decade of civil conflict in the central African country led to the
Arusha Agreement in 2000 and a ceasefire accord last November between the
transitional government and insurgent groups.
The forum focused on support
for the second phase of the transition process, which will lead to a referendum
on a constitution and local, national and presidential elections. Burundi
requested aid to reduce its foreign debt, help displaced people return to their
homes, improve government institutions, and reform the military and security
forces.
Of the funds pledged, the
European Union promised $279 million, the World Bank $140 million, the United
States $135 million, the United Kingdom $50 million, Germany $46.2 million and
Belgium $44.6 million. It was the third such meeting since 2000, and
participants included representatives of the Government of Burundi, 25 national
aid agencies and 26 international agencies.
(…)
http://www.undp.org/dpa/frontpagearchive/2004/january/26jan04/index.html
“Khartoum
Declaration on Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime” adopted at UNODC
workshop in Sudan
Vienna, 23 January (UN
Information Service) -- The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
and the Government of Sudan jointly organized a workshop on “International
Cooperation on Counter-Terrorism and the Fight against Transnational Organized
Crime”, held from 17 to 19 January 2004, in Khartoum, Sudan.
The workshop was attended by
experts from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda, Member States
of the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), as well as by
observers from Algeria and Egypt. (…) On 19 January 2004, the workshop
culminated in the “Khartoum Declaration on Terrorism and Transnational Organized
Crime” in which IGAD Member States reaffirmed their commitment to the fight
against terrorism and transnational organized crime and expressed their serious
concern about the menace these problems pose in the region. Among other issues,
the “Khartoum Declaration” focused on technical assistance needs of IGAD Member
States with regard to the ratification and implementation of twelve
international conventions and protocols against terrorism and the United
Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols. (…)
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press_release_2004-01-26_1.html
Givat Haviva,
Israel, 20
January – The Government of Canada’s Human Security
program has provided a contribution of $110,000 to the Women's Center at Givat
Haviva, Canadian Ambassador to Israel Donald Sinclair announced today on an
official visit to the Women's Centre at Givat Haviva located a few kilometers
from the central Israel city of Hadera. (…)
Ambassador
Sinclair attended the opening of a new and unique Women's Facilitator course,
one of several in Givat Haviva’s Counselling Center for Peace Eduation.
“Givat Haviva
recognizes the many contributions Canada has made to peace throughout the
world,” said Mohamad Darawshe, Givat Haviva spokesman, “and we are pleased that
Canada has recognized the important work of Givat Haviva in educating for
peace.” (…)
The Givat Haviva
campus is home to many innovative projects that aim to improve relations
between Arabs and Jews, provide better understanding of the essence of
democracy and citizen’s rights in Israel, and build bridges with Israel’s Arab
neighbours. More than 12,000 adults and children attend Givat Haviva workshops,
seminars and courses every year.
Givat Haviva
received the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education in 2001.
For further information: Mike
Flax Director, North American & UK Desk, Givat Haviva
Central,
Eastern and South-Eastern European countries plan their transport
infrastructures
Geneva, 16 January - The
countries participating in the UNECE-sponsored TEM and TER Projects are
elaborating a Master Plan aimed at the development of their priority transport
infrastructure. The TEM and TER Master Plan is intended to identify main
bottlenecks, missing links and other priority infrastructure needs in their
road, rail and combined transport networks, and design a realistic investment
strategy to meet those needs. Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania,
Poland, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia and
Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Turkey and Ukraine are expected to have an active participation in the Master
Plan’s work. The EU Commission, the World Bank, the EBRD, the EIB and other
international organizations have also been invited to participate. (…) The work
is expected to be completed by September 2004. (…)
http://www.unece.org/press/pr2004/04trans_n01e.htm
New York, 26 January (Carter
Center Press Release) - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and his wife,
Rosalynn, will travel on behalf of The Carter Center to West Africa Feb. 2-6,
2004, to call international attention to the need to eliminate the last 1
percent of Guinea worm disease remaining in the world. The Carter Center team will visit Togo and
Mali and be joined in Ghana by World Health Organization Director-General Dr.
LEE Jong-wook and UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Kul Gautam. The Carter
Center, UNICEF, and WHO are lead partners in a worldwide coalition that has
helped countries reduce incidences of the disease by 99 percent, from 3.5
million in 1986 to approximately 35,000 today. Ghana Minister of Health Dr.
Kweku Afriyie will host and guide the visiting delegations during a tour of
villages with Guinea worm disease. (…)
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_19048.html
Cote D’ivoire, 23 January – UNICEF will launch the third phase of its
mass vaccination campaign against measles on 23 January in the northern
districts of Odienne, Tengrela, Boundiali, Korhogo and Ferkessedougou, targeting
over 450,000 children from 6 months to 14 years of age, adding to the almost
1.5 million children vaccinated last year in the central areas of the country.
Simultaneously, vitamin A will be distributed to children under 5 years of age.
UNICEF’s aim is to reach and protect these children before the measles season
peaks in March.
The remaining 6.5 million
children will be vaccinated during 2004. These campaigns are funded by the
European Commission's Humanitarian Aid
Office (ECHO), the American Red Cross (ARC), the Centers for Disease Control
and prevention (CDC), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the
Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, and the United Nations Foundation. UNICEF is
working closely with other implementing partners including WHO, International
Committee of the Red Cross, Médecins Sans Frontières, Action Contre la Faim,
and CARE International to ensure an effective campaign. (…)
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_19038.html
Joint
efforts of MSF and Tigray Regional Health bureau bring ARVs to Humera.
Addis Ababa, 21 January - This
week the international medical relief organization Médecins Sans Frontières
(MSF) and the Tigray Regional Health Bureau have launched the first program of
free treatment with antiretroviral drugs (ARV) for HIV/AIDS patients in
Ethiopia. There are 13 patients in Humera's 'Kahsay Abera' hospital who have
started to receive their medicines. The new ARV program is part of the
commitment by the Ethiopian government and MSF to increase the availability of
ARV treatment to patients in need of it. (…)
While initiatives to introduce
ARVs have commenced in other parts of Ethiopia, Humera is a remote area with a
relatively mobile and vulnerable population that is unable to access and pay
for the treatment available in major cities in other parts of the country.
Humera has a number of high-risk groups due to the presence of large numbers of
single men including migrant workers, attracting many commercial sex workers to
the area. (…)
WHO
pushing to rapidly scale-up measures to fight TB and HIV
Collaborative
approach to speed distribution of AIDS treatment and reduce spread of
tuberculosis in high HIV prevalence areas
Geneva, 21 January -- The
World Health Organization (WHO) announced today a plan to expand collaboration
between national tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS programmes to curb the growing
pandemic of TB/HIV co-infection, with a principal focus on Africa where 70% of
the world's 14 million people who are co-infected live.
The new policy guidelines
define activities necessary to address the dual epidemic of TB and HIV and
gives clear guidance for countries on the circumstances under which these
effective activities need to be carried out. It will give critical support for
‘3 by 5’, the WHO plan to provide antiretroviral (ARV) treatment to three
million people living with AIDS by the end of 2005. (…)
A key element will be to
rapidly expand voluntary HIV testing and counselling in TB programmes, with the
aim of identifying and referring more than half a million TB patients who are
HIV positive for ARV treatment in the next two years. With additional training
for health workers, TB programmes will also assist in HIV prevention, ARV
distribution and patient care. (…)
Unique
opportunity for eradication success now rests with key Governments
Geneva, 15 January - Polio
should be relegated to the history books within the next twelve months,
Ministers of Health from the six remaining polio-endemic countries declared
today at a high-level meeting in Geneva. The Ministers unveiled a bold new plan
to immunize 250 million children multiple times during a series of massive
polio immunization campaigns in 2004.
Data presented from
Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Niger, Nigeria and Pakistan, showing poliovirus
beaten back to only a few remaining reservoirs, and aggressive new programmes,
presented an unprecedented opportunity to eradicate a disease that once
paralyzed hundreds of thousands of children each year.
After an international
investment of US$ three billion over 15 years, and the successful engagement of
over 200 countries and 20 million volunteers, polio could be the first disease
of the 21st century to be eradicated. Health ministers in Geneva noted that the
success or failure of the world's largest public health initiative, spearheaded
by national governments, the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary
International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and
UNICEF, now rests with the governments of the six endemic countries. Polio
transmission levels are now at their lowest ever in the key countries of India,
Pakistan and Egypt, providing these governments with a rare opportunity to
halting spread of the virus. (…)
http://www.rotary.org/newsroom/presscenter/releases/182.html
(top)
ESCWA
participates in the Government Leadership Forum Arabia 2004
The Executive Secretary of
ESCWA (Economic & Social Commission for Western Asia), Ms. Mervat Tallawy,
addressed The Government Leadership Forum (GLF) held in Cairo, 23-25 January
2004. The GLF is an annual Microsoft events, which was held with Chairman and
Chief Architect for Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates, as key note speaker,
under the auspices of the Egyptian President, H.E. Hosni Mubarak, and hosted by
the Egyptian Prime Minister, Dr. Atef Ebid.
The GLF brings together top
representatives from governments to discuss how countries are streamlining
service delivery and empowering their citizens through the use of information
and communication technology. The objective of the GLF 2004, held for the first
time in the Middle East, was to provide a platform for local, national, and
regional governments participation in the shaping of the Arab knowledge
society; exchanging views on building a favorable environment for private
investment and employment creation; modernizing public services and progressing
with good governance; and identifying mechanisms to accelerate an inclusive
socio-economic development path for the emerging Arab information and knowledge
society. (..)
Riga, Latvia, 27 January -
Demonstration farms in Latvia are helping to provide expertise and direction
for environmentally responsible forestry. The model areas have been established
as part of the WWF and IKEA cooperation on Forest Projects.
One of the biggest land
reforms in Europe´s history has quietly been taking place in former communist
countries — posing big challenges for people and nature. After the state gave
back much of its territory to the people over the last few years, Latvia's
160,000 new forest owners are now responsible for looking after one million
hectares of forests, nearly half of Latvia's total forest estate. Most of the
new forest owners however have neither a forestry background nor any natural or
resource management experience. They are now faced with the challenge to learn
to mange their forests. The future of Latvia's unique nature is largely in
their hands and will depend on their vision — whether long-term management
decisions for sustainable forestry will prevail over short-term economic gains.
Within this context WWF has
created model areas to demonstrate — together with experienced Latvian forest
owners — how these forests can be managed in an environmentally friendly way
while providing economic benefits for the owners. (…)
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/other_news/news.cfm?uNewsID=10841
West
African environment ministers want NEPAD to use biosphere reserves as
laboratories for sustainable development
26 January - West Africa’s
environment ministers called on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development
(NEPAD) to use UNESCO biosphere reserves as laboratories for sustainable
development in the region, during a round table held at the Organization’s
Headquarters today.
“Concerned by the ongoing
environmental degradation and the concomitant increasing poverty across the
African continent,” announced the ministers, “we are committed to promoting the
use of biosphere reserves as operational sites for sustainable development in
the fight against poverty and in implementing the action plan of the
Environment Initiative of NEPAD.”
The declaration was made
during a round table launching a new project involving UNESCO’s Man and the
Biosphere Programme (MAB) and the United Nations Environment Programme. With a
budget of more than US$6 million, the new project will combine a range of
activities over the next four years to improve the protection and sustainable
development of biosphere reserves in West Africa. (…) In his remarks at the
opening of the round table, UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura said that
“biosphere reserves constitute perfect field laboratories for implementing the
environmental objectives of NEPAD and the World Summit for Sustainable
Development (Johannesburg, 2002)”. (…)
Wildlife
Officers in Guinea, Mali, Congo, Sierra Leone and Senegal get Urgently Needed
Computers
Nairobi/London, 26 January -
Some of the most ill-equipped offices in the world, where staff are in the
front line in the battle to save the great apes from extinction, are being
brought into the computer age courtesy of DHL, one of the world’s leading
express and logistics company.
The company has responded to
an appeal by the United Nations Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP) and is
making vital, free delivery of office equipment purchased by its UK partner,
The Born Free Foundation (BFF) from the United Kingdom, to conservation
authorities in west and central Africa. This gesture enlists DHL as a corporate
partner of the GRASP Project.
This international
collaborative effort with DHL demonstrates the crucial role that multinational
corporations can play in assisting the drive to halt the extinction of
humankind's closest relative - both in money and in kind. (…)
Join 10,000 people of faith,
spirit, and goodwill at the 2004
Parliament of the World's Religions in Barcelona, Spain - July 7-13, 2004
The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions, will be holding a
10,000 person conference in conjunction with the UNESCO Centre of Catalonia and
the 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures. The gathering will welcome people of all
religious and spiritual traditions for dialogue, exchange, and education.
The mission of the Council for
a Parliament of the World's Religions is to cultivate harmony between the
world's religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with
the world and its other guiding institutions in order to achieve a peaceful,
just, and sustainable world.
International Conference
"Age of Connectivity: Harnessing the Generations"
New York, February 11, 10 am – 6 pm,
United Nations Headquarters
The Conference’s purpose is to
build bridges and develop projects, services and products that support the
needs of people of all ages. Each month the world’s older population increases
by 1.2 million! The quantity of life change has become a quality of life
challenge. Program examines the role of information and connection
technology in influencing the quality of life of older persons in the world; it
stipulates a framework of how to think about ICT as an agent of change --
offering a quality blueprint for an enriched “Society for All Ages” focusing
on:
Social and Economic
Sustainability through Technology, Rural and Urban Development,
Entrepreneurship, e-learning, e-commerce, Networks, and Capacity Building. (…)
As part
of a series of Interlinked Congresses addressing the “Age of Longevity” held in
cities around the globe, this conference is being held during the Commission
for Social Development. The International Council for Caring Communities (ICCC)
organizes it in collaboration with the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT),
UN Programme on Ageing, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UN ICT Task
Force, Department of Public Information, the private sector, other NGOs. Please
check UN Website for Conference up-date and registration form
www.un.org/events/agingcf.htm or icccworld@earthlink.net
World Summit on Media for
Children and Adolescents -- 19-23
April, Rio de Janeiro
International media professionals,
researchers, educators from around the world will discuss, and analyse
television, radio, film, internet and electronic games production for children
and adolescents. On the agenda: the rights of children and adolescents to
quality media. Media from All, Media for All is the theme of the 4th WSMCA. It is an initiative
of the World Summit on Media for Children Foundation which started in 1995 in
Melbourne, Australia, and rapidly converted into the leading
international forum, dealing with quality of media produced for children
and adolescents, new technologies, public policies, legal and commercial
agreements. This forum consists of innovative and instigating discussions held
through conferences, exhibitions, round tables, workshops, panels, master
classes and videoconferences.
At the Summit, the
International Child Art Foundation (ICAF) founder, Ashfaq Ishaq, will chair a
session on using media intelligently and creatively. ICAF is one of the premier organizations for the world's
children. ICAF employs the arts as a dynamic channel to nurture children's
creativity, as a language-independent medium to connect children around the
world, and as a powerful catalyst for peace building. ICAF publishes the
CHILDART magazine - a unique, commercial-free, arts learning, self-discovery
and global education publication for children, teachers and parents.
http://www.riosummit2004.com.br http://www.icaf.org
11Nobel
Peace Laureates participate to PeaceJam at Pioneer High School, USA
PeaceJam is a year long,
on-going international education program of the Pioneer High School in Ann
Arbor (MI). The program is built around eleven leading Nobel Peace Laureates
who will work personally with our students to pass on the spirit, skills and
wisdom they exemplify. The participating Nobel Laureates are directly involved
in developing the curriculum and the program itself. PeaceJam is the only
organization in the world which has eleven Nobel Peace Laureates working
together long-term for a common cause – our Youth.
The PeaceJam program is
comprised of three components:
Education: The curriculum is
flexible and activity-oriented, providing the means to discuss such issues as
violence and racism, and the qualities of being a peacemaker. Inspiration: After spending time in the
curriculum, we will attend educational field trips, the annual PeaceJam Youth Conference
at Western Michigan University, where we will meet the Nobel Laureate whom we
have been studying. Action: We will
return to our community with a renewed perspective on making a difference, and
with the charge to fulfill our service project commitment.
Our Swords Into Plowshares
Peace Center and Gallery promotes and inspires justice and peace through the
visual and performing arts by serving as a forum for artists to present works,
which comment on social conditions, fostering visions of the world transformed
to one where peace and justice prevail, and by encouraging people to use their
creativity to express their desire for such a world and to take action to make
those visions a reality.
Further
information:
Victor L.
Kennerly, LPC.kennerly@aaps.k12.mi.us
Harry Hayward hayward@aaps.k12.mi.us
Silver Spring, MD, USA,
January 27 - The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) office in
Afghanistan recently completed a six-month education project in Jowzjan
Province, Northern Afghanistan. The project rehabilitated the Oramast
Elementary School and provided it with 100 wooden desks and chairs, a sports
equipment kit, playground equipment and a water well, benefiting five
surrounding villages. Due to these improvements, eight new classes were
started, including three for girls. (…)
Water and
sanitation issues were also addressed by drilling hand-pump wells in the
villages of Kutchilakhimonio, Kutchikhojimorzo, Mirvaismina, Kazontchi,
Naowobod Jim Mahala and Harabkhona. Additionally, 187 hygiene and sanitation
posters concerning hand washing were produced and distributed, and hygiene and
sanitation activities were conducted in 23 schools.
The project, funded by the
Government of the Faroe Islands, Hope for Humanity, HELP International and ADRA
International, resulted in an "81% increase in school enrollment and a 75% increase
in the number of children with access to clean water at school," reported
Karla Leitzke, project manager for ADRA Afghanistan
http://www.adra.org/ADRANews/012704.html
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