"What-We-Know" and "What-We-Need-to-Know" About Health Care in Africa: A Columbia University School of Nursing Study Explores the Gap
A recent review of the nursing and midwifery research literature conducted in African countries over a ten-year period found that many widespread health care problems in African countries were not investigated by the published research, including infectious disease other than HIV, and non-communicable diseases such as malnutrition, diarrheal disease, hypertension and diabetes. The authors of the study suggest nursing and midwifery research focusing on health care diseases and conditions in Africa have been influenced by the agendas of funding sources.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/07/prweb12835529.htm
West Africa: Why Too Many Mothers Are Still Dying At Childbirth in West Africa
By Bosede Afolabi, University of Lagos
Maternal mortality rates in West Africa are among the highest in the world. One in every 30 Nigerian mothers die in childbirth compared with one in every 30,000 in Sweden.
This is still much better than it used to be. In Sierra Leone in the early 1990s, more than 2300 women were dying for every 100,000 babies that were born alive. In Nigeria, 1100 women were suffering the same fate. The situation in both countries has improved dramatically in the past 25 years. Sierra Leone has more than halved the number of maternal deaths to 1100 for every 100,000 births, as has Nigeria - where the rate is 576 women for every 100,000 births.
But this is still way out of kilt with developing countries. In Sweden, there are four deaths for every 100,000 births. In the US, there are 28 for every 100,000 births.
Since 1990, maternal deaths worldwide have dropped by 45%. This has been partly as a result of countries adopting the eight Millennium Development Goals. As part of meeting the goals, member countries committed to cut maternal mortality by 75% by the end of December 2015.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201507070536.html
http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/112682/2/9789241507226_eng.pdf?ua=1
South Sudan: UN Mission deplores killing of civilian in Organization compound
7 July 2015 – The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has condemned "in the strongest terms" the fatal shooting of an internally displaced person (IDP) at one of its 'protection-of-civilians' sites – the second attack of its kind to strike the African nation and the Organization in less than a week.
According to a press release issued by the Mission earlier today, UN personnel serving at the Organization's compound in Bentiu responded to a gunshot on the evening of 5 July only to find the body of a male IDP fatally wounded in the back.
UNMISS explained that according to eyewitness accounts two armed men in military uniforms were seen inside the 'protection-of-civilians' site and fled into the surrounding bush following the attack.
"Any attack on a protection-of-civilians site constitutes a direct assault against the United Nations and may constitute a war crime," the Mission declared in its condemnation of the attack.
"This is not the first time that an UNMISS protection-of-civilians site has come under attack by armed elements in South Sudan, and such indefensible actions will compromise the Mission's ability to implement its mandate if they continue to go unpunished."
The killing, in fact, follows the shooting death of one internally displaced person (IDP) and the injuring of six others at another UN compound in Malakal early last week.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51348#.VZ62tflViko
Education 'essential to vision of a life of dignity for all,' says Ban at Norway summit
7 July 2015 – The Oslo Summit on Education for Development is a chance to reaffirm the human right to education, an opportunity to mobilize political commitment, and "our moment" to galvanize international support for education, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared today in Norway, where he has been attending a number of high-level events over the past two days.
"We are here to secure commitments to deliver on the promises of the sustainable development agenda. Education is essential to its vision of a life of dignity for all," the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, noting that the Summit is being held just six days before the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, which will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51350#.VZ627PlViko
7 tips for managing your summer job search
With hiring managers and recruiters away on leave, hiring decisions can often be put on hold, but that doesn't mean your job search needs to halt. Here are seven tips for managing your job search when it feels like everyone is away at the beach.
https://www.devex.com/news/7-tips-for-managing-your-summer-job-search-86484
After missteps on Ebola, WHO must re-establish itself as 'guardian of global public health' – review panel
7 July 2015 – The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has welcomed the report issued today by a panel of experts tasked to look into the agency's response to the unprecedented 2014 Ebola outbreak, which said that WHO needs to re-establish its pre-eminence as the guardian of global public health and that this will require it to make significant changes throughout, with strong political and financial support from Member States.
"The Panel firmly believes that this is a defining moment not only for WHO and the global health emergency response but also for the governance of the entire global health system," said the Report of the Ebola Interim Assessment Panel released today. "The challenges raised in this report are critical to the delivery of the proposed Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all age."
At WHO Executive Board's special session on Ebola in January 2015, Member States adopted a resolution calling for an assessment by a panel of independent experts on all aspects of WHO's response in the Ebola outbreak, which affected more than 27,500 people, including over 11,000 deaths, mostly in West Africa. In response to the resolution, WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan established a panel to undertake this work.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51349#.VZ62VPlViko
Washington wants a stable partner in the Horn of Africa. But cozying up to the repressive regime in Addis Ababa isn't the way to go about finding one.
Later this month, President Barack Obama will become the first sitting U.S. president to ever visit Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous country, and a nation viewed by many as a bastion of stability in a region otherwise beset with civil strife. The trip — which will also include a stopover in Kenya — is being billed as part of the Obama administration's regional efforts "to accelerate economic growth, strengthen democratic institutions, and improve security."
These are indeed laudable goals and should be actively pursued by the U.S. government. But the timing and tenor of the visit to Addis Ababa sends a worrying signal that Washington's priorities — not only in Ethiopia, but on the entire continent — are actually at odds with the president's oft-repeatedrhetoric about advancing human rights and strengthening African democracy and institutions.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/07/08/obama-should-stay-away-from-ethiopia/
Australia under pressure to boost aid spending on poorest countries
Less than one-quarter of Australia's aid money is going to the world's poorest nations, new analysis by aid organisation One has revealed.
About 22.7% of aid money goes to the least developed nations, with the Abbott government instead opting to focus on the Asia-Pacific region. Around 20% of the world's poorest countries are in that region, with more than two-thirds in sub-Saharan Africa.
Australia's aid budget has been slashed by $11bn over the last few years, and in the 2013-14 financial year, the country spent $4.7bn on development funding. Just 5% of that – $240m – went to sub-Saharan Africa. A further $713m went to other under-developed nations.
Nearly all jurisdictions received a cut to funding, as outlined in the 2014-15 May budget, but sub-Saharan Africa received one of the largest cuts, losing 70% of its funding.
Aid group One wants donor countries like Australia to adopt new goals for next week's aid conference in Ethiopia.
Goodbye and good news: 9 big facts about Africa from the UN's last-ever MDG report
THE United Nations has released its final report on the millennium development goals (MDGs) as it prepares to roll out their successors later this year, terming the anti-poverty effort "the most successful in history".
The MDGs were based on the Millennium Declaration of 2000 and were couched as eight goals with the main objective of meeting the needs of the world's poorest over a 15-year period.
Expiring this year, they will be replaced by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also over 15 years and which are seen as the best bet of completing the job.
The report released this week is thus the final one on the MDGs, and showed the number of people living in extreme poverty (less than $1.25 a day) has declined by more than half, falling from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015, with sub-Saharan Africa improving the fastest of all developing regions.
"Following profound and consistent gains, we now know that extreme poverty can be eradicated within one more generation", said UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon. "The MDGs have greatly contributed to this progress and have taught us how governments, business and civil society can work together to achieve transformational breakthroughs".
Business Forum East Africa highlights regional potential
Published on 08 Jul 2015
Financial inclusion, securities markets and regional harmonisation some of the important topics unpacked in Nairobi
The first SWIFT Business Forum East Africa in Nairobi brought together close to 300 delegates from the financial community to discuss the many opportunities and challenges the region faces. The afternoon's keynote speaker, Ehoumann Kassi, Managing Director, Ecobank East Africa, highlighted the importance of regional harmonisation projects to support the growth of regional trade.
"There is still a lot to achieve, but the momentum for regional trade is building," said Kassi. "Four of the countries in the East African Community, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Burundi, do more trade with each other than any other countries in Africa. We already have a young and growing population, and with Ethiopia and South Sudan, that brings an even more dynamic demographic to the EAC. This, the investment in infrastructure and increasing integration, are a good basis for future growth."
However, there are a lot of challenges too, added Kassi. "We have overlapping of trade blocks. Each member of EAC belongs to another trade block. These may have different trade tariffs and other rules, so this adds layers of complexity. Also, the cost is higher in Africa than in other countries. When you lift a container in Africa, it costs $2000; the same container cost in Asia is $900, we have a long way to go to be more competitive."
EU approves 1.15 bln euro aid package for West Africa
DAKAR (Reuters) - The European Union on Monday approved 1.15 billion euros in aid for West Africa through to 2020, nearly doubling its previous commitment to a region that is a major source of migrants seeking to enter Europe.
West Africa is home to some of the world's poorest and historically most unstable countries. Even in peaceful states with good economic growth rates, many governments are struggling to create enough jobs for a booming youth population. Some are choosing to flee across the Sahara towards Europe or join criminal or militant networks.
"We will work with a wide range of partners to tackle the challenges that remain in West Africa, such as peace and security, economic integration and trade, as well as sustainable development," said Neven Mimica, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development.
The previous five-year European Development Fund programme had a 595 million-euro ($659.20 million) budget.
Posted by: Africa Realities <africarealities@gmail.com>
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