Category: Medical

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA – For the first time in more than a year, Tanzania has released figures on coronavirus, confirming 100 cases since a third wave of infections began. President Samia Hassan says Tanzania has budgeted $470 million to buy COVID-19 vaccine. The actions mark a sharp turn from Hassan’s predecessor, the late John Magufuli.

A week ago, Tanzania’s health ministry warned citizens that a “third wave” of COVID-19 infection was spreading across Africa.

On Monday, President Samia Hassan announced Tanzania has recorded 100 such cases in recent days, and said 70 patients required oxygen.

She warned citizens to protect themselves from infection.

Hassan said when you look at the number of patients, it’s not that high but we must protect ourselves so it doesn’t rise. She said the first step her government has taken is to go in line with the world by allowing the vaccine. And it will be voluntarily, she said. Hassan emphasized that a citizen who want to be vaccinated will get the shot and those who don’t want it will not be disturbed until they change their minds.

Hassan said $470 million has been budgeted to purchase COVID-19 vaccine and provide economic relief for businesses that were severely hit by the pandemic.

In a message on Twitter, U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania Donald Wright welcomed Hassan’s intent to buy vaccine and signaled that the U.S. is ready to help.

Now, are the country’s health care services ready to deal with COVID-19? Shadrack Mwaibambe is the president of the Tanzania Medical Association.

He says we have taken lessons from the first and second waves of COVID-19. The country is standing firm and where there are weaknesses, we are continuing to address them he says. Mwaibambe says that’s why the president has decided to handle the pandemic using scientific methods like accepting its presence and she’s fighting it. The amount of money that is set is enough and she has not diverted it to other areas he says.

Rights activists say with the government now doing its part, citizens should also follow COVID-19 guidelines. Felista Mauya is the director of empowerment and accountability with the Legal and Human Rights Center.

“We continue to emphasize that citizens and the whole society should continue to observe precautions by washing hands, wearing masks, and observing social distancing,” she says. “Mauya added that people should focus on the guidelines and statements that our leaders are issuing following all the health guidelines and we can fight the virus.”

President Hassan has yet to announce when the vaccine will arrive, but said Tanzania has joined the COVAX facility that sends doses to lower-income countries.

She said specialists are determining which brand of vaccine will be sent to Tanzania and how it will be distributed.

Source: Voice of America

In Malawi, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and inter-sex (LGBTI) community Saturday held their first ever pride parade in the capital, Lilongwe, pushing for recognition by the government, legalization of same-sex marriage and equal access to health care.

During the parade, marchers carried placards with messages like; “We Are Also Human Beings,” “Diversity Creates Community” and, “We Are Also an Image of God.”

Many of them covered their faces not only with coronavirus protective masks to hide their identity.

Eric Sambisa, director of Nyasa Rainbow Alliance, which organized the parade, told reporters that sexual minorities are in danger in Malawi.

“People are not safe here because they are targeted for violence all the time. There are so many forms of violence targeted to LGBTI people, so I don’t blame them if they cover their [faces]. It’s for their own safety,” Sambisa said.

The marchers petitioned Malawi’s government to cancel an online survey on citizens’ views on homosexuality announced last November during a United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the country’s human rights record.

A U.N. report stemming from the review noted that “Malawi had refused to accept the recommendations” related to the LGBTI community “and the hate crimes, physical violence, and mental health issues that its members faced.”

Malawi held out the survey as a reason for delaying the government’s response to pressure from the international community to better protect sexual minorities.

George Kachimanga, program manager for Nyasa Rainbow Alliance, said progress on human rights should not depend on the results of a poll.

“So, we said we cannot expose issues of the minority to the majority because you actually know the outcome. So, we are saying ‘no’ to that because Malawi is sitting [on the] Human Rights Council now and it should lead by example. It shouldn’t be selective on the rights that it can actually implement or fulfill. So that [is our] our argument,” he said.

Kachimanga also said the alliance wants Malawi authorities to review its laws on homosexuality, which is currently illegal and punishable by a 14-year maximum prison sentence.

In 2010, Malawi sentenced two gay couples, who received the maximum sentence on charges of gross indecency and unnatural acts.

They were, however, pardoned a week later following an international condemnation of the convictions.

In 2015, the country issued a moratorium on punishing homosexuality until a decision was made on possibly repealing applicable laws.

Some commentators argue the moratorium serves as de facto recognition by the government of sexual minorities – and that further agitation by the LGTBI community is therefore unnecessary.

But Kachimanga said the absence of legal reform subjects LGBTI people to human rights violations, discrimination, stigma and unequal access to health care.

“Despite the moratorium, cases are still ongoing. Mind you it’s not all the cases that have to come in the national media, there are other cases that happen underground, so you need to take care of those cases as well. So, we need something concrete that will determine the right direction in terms of these issues,” Kachimanga said.

VOA was unable to reach government officials for comment.

Nyasa Rainbow Alliance is appealing to the Malawi Law Society as well as the country’s parliament and human rights commission for change.

Habiba Osman, executive director for the human rights commission, said the group’s petition is in line with provisions in the Malawi Constitution.

“The Constitution is very clear. It says no one shall be discriminated [against] based on race, tribe, and sex. It’s very clear; Section 20 says that. And again, if you notice the treaty mechanisms that Malawi has ratified among other binding treaty obligations, for example, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1 says all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” Osman said.

The principal administrative officer for the Lilongwe City Council, Hudson Kuphanga, has received the petition and says he will deliver it to the appropriate authorities on Monday.

Source: Voice of America

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday that the delta variant of the novel coronavirus has been identified in at least 85 countries and “is the most transmissible of the variants identified so far . . . and is spreading rapidly among unvaccinated populations.” He also said, “As some countries ease public health and social measures, we are starting to see increases in transmission around the world.”

“It’s quite simple: more transmission, more variants. Less transmission, less variants,” the WHO chief said. “That makes it even more urgent that we use all the tools at our disposal to prevent transmission: the tailored and consistent use of public health and social measures, in combination with equitable vaccination.

Meanwhile, health officials say a new strain of the delta variant of the coronavirus, first identified in India, has emerged in almost a dozen countries, including India, the United States, and the U.K. The new variant has been dubbed Delta Plus. Authorities fear Delta Plus may be even more contagious the delta variant. Scientists are just beginning to study the new strain.

Australia’s biggest city has been ordered into a two-week lockdown because of a growing number of COVID-19 cases. Health authorities in Sydney are fighting to contain an outbreak of the highly infectious delta variant. Stay-at-home orders will also apply to other areas in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state. It is the first lockdown in Sydney since December. Australia has consistently maintained very low rates of coronavirus transmission. The latest outbreak is linked to a limousine driver at Sydney airport.

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Saturday that the global count of COVID-19 cases has reached more than 180 million. The U.S. continues to have the most infections with 33.6 million, followed closely by India with 30.1 million and Brazil with 18.3 million.

Johns Hopkins said 2.8 billion vaccines have been administered.

Source: Voice of America

Médecins Sans Frontières said Friday that three aid workers for the organization were found dead near their vehicle in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region.

“No words can truly convey all our sadness, shock and outrage against this horrific attack,” the medical charity said in a statement. “Nor can words soothe the loss and suffering of their families and loved ones, to whom we relay our deepest sympathy and condolences.”

MSF said they lost contact with the staffers Thursday, and Friday morning their vehicle was found empty, and their bodies lay a few meters from it.

They identified the victims as Maria Hernandez, 35, MSF’s emergency coordinator who is a Spanish national; Yohannes Halefom Reda, 31, assistant coordinator and an Ethiopian national; and Tedros Gebremariam Gebremichael, 31, their driver and also an Ethiopian citizen.

“The death of Maria, Yohannes and Tedros is a devastating blow to all of us, both in Ethiopia and in the other countries where we operate around the world,” MSF said in the statement.

U.N. Spokesman Stephane Dujarric tweeted, “We cannot condemn strongly enough attacks on humanitarian workers.”

He noted that aid workers are too often targeted with the intention of scaring away humanitarians.

“But what it does is denies men, women and children who need help, the help that they need,” he said, adding the United Nations condolences to those tweeted by UNICEF and the ICRC.

Tigray has been the center of hostilities since November, when fighting broke out between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the government of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. 

The fighting has exacerbated an already complex humanitarian situation in Tigray, where some 350,000 people are facing famine and at least 4 million others are coping with severe hunger. Aid groups have appealed for access, but they are often denied it by armed groups.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi urged parties to the conflict to protect the safety of both civilians and humanitarians on the ground in a statement earlier Friday.

“Civilians, including refugees have suffered enough and UNHCR and other humanitarian agencies must be allowed to help them,” Grandi said. “Only improved security and entry and access throughout Tigray will allow UNHCR and other humanitarian partners to carry out our mandate to assist those desperately in need.”

Source: Voice of America

The World Bank announced a partnership with the African Union Tuesday to finance the acquisition and distribution of COVID-19 vaccine for 400 million people in Africa.

In a remote news conference via Zoom, World Bank Managing Operations Director Axel van Trotsenburg said the World Bank is providing $12 billion to not only acquire but deploy 400 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine — a single dose shot — in support of the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT) initiative.

The announcement comes a day after African finance ministers and the World Bank Group met to fast-track vaccine acquisition on the continent and avoid a third wave of COVID-19.

Van Trotsenburg said the bank is making the financing available in an effort to address the imbalance in vaccine access between the world’s wealthy and not-so-wealthy nations.

He said, “Less than one percent of the African population has been vaccinated. Africa has been marginalized in this global effort to get a vaccine. We have to correct this unfairness; and given that this is a global pandemic, we need global solutions and global solidarity.”

The project will be a big step toward helping the African Union meet its goal to vaccinate 60% of the continent’s population by 2022.

Van Trotsenburg said the regional effort complements the work of the World Health Organization-managed COVAX vaccine cooperative and comes at a time of rising COVID-19 cases in the region.

The World Bank has already approved operations to support vaccine roll outs in 36 countries. By the end of June, the World Bank expects to be supporting vaccination efforts in 50 countries, two thirds of which are in Africa.

Source: Voice of America

The newly appointed governor of South Sudan’s Lakes state is facing calls to institute the death penalty for anyone involved in inter-communal fighting, cattle raids or road ambushes, all of which have become rampant in the state.

The governor, Lieutenant General Rin Tueny Mabor, listened Sunday as hundreds of Lakes state residents, including traditional chiefs, attended a workshop in Juba’s Freedom Hall on ending the violence.

“Murder must be punishable by death, and any revenge killings that occur after the culprits have been detained must be punishable by death as well. Those who are found in possession of arms without the support of the law must be penalized and disarmed by all means possible, including the use of lethal force,” said moderator Jacob Adut Mabor, reading from a list of recommendations put forward by Lakes state citizens.

Participants agreed on 23 resolutions, including one that would arrest and punish politicians and military officials found guilty of inciting communities to fight and those that supply weapons to civilians.

Tighten rule of law

After listening to all of the recommendations, the governor vowed to tighten the rule of law in order to stop the vicious cycle of killings in parts of the state.

“My administration will fully effect the punishment of law on such elements destabilizing our state. Bandits, cattle rustling is a criminal offense against the state and must be dealt with properly. We must not succumb to criminals and must not allow our people to despair,” Mabor told the assembled crowd.

General Majak Akech, inspector general of the South Sudan National Police Service, and a Lakes state native, encouraged Mabor to apply the proper punishment for criminals commensurate with the situation, including death by firing squad.

“If the situation requires firing squad, do it. If the situation requires humanity, do it. But you should focus on strengthening local courts. If we depend on the courts in Juba, it will take long process and delay the justice process,” said Akech.

Akech said once the country’s unified forces are graduated from training camps, they will carry out a nationwide disarmament exercise.

Work without interruption

Peace and stability will not return to Lakes state until politicians and military leaders allow the new governor to do his work without interruption, according to chief Madut Buoi, who spoke at the workshop.

“We hear that there are people who have a power to bring governor and power to remove him when they don’t need him. These are our politicians who stand behind their people at home. By the time the governor starts to do his work and touch some people, the same politicians will return to Kiir and say that the governor is not doing what we want; remove him,” said Buoi.

Nepotism and sectarianism are the main challenges standing in the way of justice and enforcement of the law in Lakes state, according to Buoi.

Tired of burying men

Martha Aterieu, a member of parliament representing Lakes state, said women are tired of burying men killed in communal violence or of being abandoned by men who kill, then run away.

“After killing each other, they ran away to hide, leaving their dead colleagues for women to bury because if they engage in burial, they will be included in the fight, so they hide and leave it to women to carry the body, dig the grave and bury them. Is it right for us to be burying people? Is that our mission when we are not the ones who killed them? You must shoot them,” said Aterieu.

The number of inter-communal attacks, cattle raids, and road ambushes has increased in several parts of the state over the past couple of years.

Earlier this month, 18 people were killed during inter-communal violence between two communities in the town of Rumbek.

In late March, at least 13 people were killed during inter-communal clashes over a two-day period in Rumbek.

Source: Voice of America

Three children have died following a school kidnapping of 94 students and eight staff in northwest Nigeria last week, the establishment’s principal said on Sunday.

The army said in a statement it had rescued three teachers and eight students so far, killing one of the kidnappers.

There has been a series of kidnappings for ransom in northern Nigeria, with a sharp rise in abductions since late 2020 as the government struggles to maintain law and order amid a flagging economy.

Two girls and a boy were found dead, two with gunshot wounds in their legs, said Mustapha Yusuf, principal of the federal government college in the remote town of Birnin Yauri in northwest Nigeria’s Kebbi state.

The kidnappers “have been taking cover under the students … They are in the bush,” he said, adding that bandits had used students’ phones to call parents and demand a 60 million naira ($146,341) ransom.

Source: Voice of America