With millions facing hunger and destitution, ActionAid is warning that the region is now reaching a tipping point with increasing numbers of people unable to cope. Altogether five countries – Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Eritrea and Djibouti – are affected. If nothing is done, the situation could easily become catastrophic.

In Ethiopia, the government estimates that 4.6 million people need emergency food aid. Less documented is the disastrous food crisis in Kenya, with 1.2 million people already affected and numbers rising daily.

Areas which normally get two rainy seasons a year have had inadequate rain for more than 12 months. Crops have failed, livestock have been dying.

The drought arrived at the same time as the global increase in the prices of food, fuel and fertiliser. Poor people are going hungry because they can neither produce nor buy enough food. In Kenya the price of staple foods such as maize has increased by a half in less than a year.

In the northern Rift Valley, ActionAid found that most men were away searching for water and pasture for cattle, whilst women and children struggled to survive on poisonous wild fruit called loma. It takes a day to pick enough berries for one meal, plus a day’s drying and a day cooking before they are edible.

ActionAidrsquo;s head of emergencies, Roger Yates explained that whilst rain has fallen in recent weeks, in many places it has been too little or too late to ensure a harvest later this year. There has also been an explosion in army worm populations, decimating crops that had been salvaged.

Roger Yates said:

- People will need emergency food aid well into 2009. Women and children are suffering most from malnutrition and many are now only surviving because of supplementary food rations. Small holders and pastoralists must be helped to get back on their feet as soon as possible. Dams and water tanks need to be repaired, water trucked in and seeds and veterinary medicines supplied to ensure no more crops or livestock are lost.

Many agencies, including ActionAid, are already delivering aid, but to save lives and livelihoods much more is needed during the coming months.

I will write some stories for external medias, so If you´re interested to buy an article, please contact me.

Mr. Mwanawasa got elected president of Zambia 2001 and started a campaign against corruption in Zambia, that for example put the former president on trial. He got reelected in 2006.

The same day as his stroke he spoke out against Robert Mugabe and where in his last weeks in office a strong opposition to the situation in Zimbabwe.

RIP Levy Mwanawasa. I will miss your courage.

Commitment will give young people inspiration and tools to become active solving the climate challenge. It´s built like a television show with interesting guests, new perspectives and motivation. The lecture will run for a year towards the UN climate meeting in december 2009.

More about it later.

Climate Commitment will be a uniqe way to build bridges and create action for our common future.

I will tell you more later, but keep you eyes open.

Powered by Podbean.com

After last weeks positive signs from Zimbabwe, Mugabe, once again, have showed his true face.

Yesterday, he announced plans to ignore the negotiations with the opposition, form a sham ldquo;Government of National Unityrdquo; with a breakaway opposition faction, and open parliament next week, according to Avaaz. And a moment ago, the news reported that opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have been taken by police at the airport in Harare.

The crisis are not over in Zimbabwe, and now the world hope that the SADC-meeting this in Johannesburg this weekend, when 15 Southern African leaders, including Mugabe are attending. The only way to solve this issue in a peaceful way are if the neighbor countries show their strong critic of Mugabe both in public and in private with sanctions, diplomatic pressure and other methods.

The regionrsquo;s powerful trade unions have threatened that unless Southern African leaders take action now, they will refuse to handle goods coming to or from Zimbabwe and will squeeze Mugabe out. A march this weekend backed by 100,000 supporters from around the world will hopefully be a overwhelming signal to Southern African leaders that they must act now before the crisis becomes even more desperate mdash; to announce that the Mbeki-led negotiations have failed, and to launch a new and fairer negotiating process immediately.

The civil society are responding, and hopefully the political leaders will follow.

Aftab Alam Khan, head of ActionAid’s Trade Policy said the failure of the talks was a result of corporate greed in America and Europe as well as the manner in which the talks were held.

“The responsibility of failure squarely lies with the US, EU who could not think beyond the interests of their huge trans-national businesses that want to grab more and more market opportunities in poor countries,” he said.

“For the US and the EU to blame China and India for the collapse is just laughable.”

“The US and EU pretension to offer 70% and 80% cuts made a mockery of poor farmers. The US suggestion that it would limit its subsidies to $14.5bn, while it currently provides $ 7-8bn annually, meant there was no real cut on the table.”

“Pascal Lamy also bears responsibility for conducting the talks in a way that was far from democratic.”

ActionAid trade campaigner Angela Wauye from Kenya said the US failure to agree a deal over the contentious issue of cotton had also contributed to the break down in talks:

“Cotton subsidies are a litmus test of the development dimension of WTO talks. More than 10 million farmers have lost livelihoods because the American government pays between US$2-4bn subsidies to around 20,000 US farmers,” Ms Wauye added.

ActionAid today also said developing countries were right not to give into heavy handed negotiating tactics by the US and the EU as crucial trade talks collapsed.

Arguing that “no deal is batter than a bad deal,” Aftab Alam Khan said the deal offered to developing countries would have put millions of poor people at further risk.

“Thus is just another example of the intransigence and insensitivity of rich countries, who aren’t interested in the survival of small farmers, workers and jobs in developing countries.”

“The industrial deal on the table was so bad it would have resulted in developing countries being US63bn worse off.

“Any agreement would have resulted in thousands of job losses in industry. Estimates say China, India and Brazil would have lost over 100,000 jobs in the car industry alone.”

He added that the Doha round of talks, which began as a development round in 2001, had disintegrated into a battle over trade.

He also accused rich countries of using heavy handed negotiating tactics to try and force developing countries into a deal which would have only benefited the former.

“Developing countries have to be appreciated for not succumbing to huge pressure from rich countries and Pascal Lamy.”

nbsp;

“AIDS 2008 is taking place at a unique moment in the epidemic, when there is widespread consensus on the urgency of ensuring universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010,” said AIDS 2008 International Co-Chair Dr. Pedro Cahn, President of the International AIDS Society (IAS) and Fundación Huésped in Buenos Aires, Argentina. “What we now need is action on the part of all stakeholders. As we gather in Mexico, each of us must ask ourselves: What can I do to end AIDS? In 2008, there are no longer bystanders in this global struggle,” he added.

nbsp;

In 2005, world leaders acting through the United Nations committed to the goal of providing universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support to all those in need by 2010. AIDS 2008 is a collective opportunity to evaluate progress towards this goal and identify strategies for accelerating prevention and treatment scale up. Central to these deliberations will be a discussion of how specifically to tackle the underlying drivers of HIV risk and vulnerability – including gender inequality, human rights violations and HIV-related stigma and discrimination. Another major topic to be explored is the importance of strengthening overall health systems in poor countries.

nbsp;

Sunday, 3 August Opening Session

The week-long event begins on Sunday, 3 August, with welcoming remarks by the AIDS 2008 Co-Chairs and an official opening from Mexican President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa. It will also feature an address by United Nations Director-General Ban Ki-moon, representing his first International AIDS Conference since being appointed in 2006. Other major leaders participating in the Opening Session include: Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Denzil Douglas; Former President of Bostwana, Festus Mogae; First Vice President of Spain, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega; Mexico’s Secretary of Health, José Ángel Córdova Villalobos; UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot; and World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan.

nbsp;

The Opening Session will also feature remarks by Ms. Mony Pen, a community activist and advocate for HIV-positive women globally and in Cambodia, and 13-year old youth advocate, Keren Dunaway Gonzales. Since a very young age, Miss Gonzales has spoken publicly about her HIV status in an effort to reduce HIV stigma and discrimination in her home country of Honduras, as well as internationally.

“Today’s inspiring panel of Opening Session speakers – representing individuals living with HIV, as well as some the world’s most powerful political figures – symbolizes the unique feature of this conference: to bring together the many diverse participants engaged in and leading the global response to HIV,” said AIDS 2008 Local Co-Chair Dr. Luis Soto Ramírez, Head of the Molecular Virology Unit at the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán and Coordinator of the Clinical Care Committee of CONASIDA, Mexico’s National AIDS Council. “Mexico is honored to host this seminal event and to welcome the International AIDS Conference to Latin America for the very first time.”

nbsp;

The full Opening Session will be webcast live by kaisernetwork.org and is available for viewing during and after the event at www.aids2008.org.

nbsp;

AIDS 2008 Scientific Programme

Over 5,000 abstracts – including 103 late breaker abstracts – will be presented at the conference, selected from the more than 10,600 submissions (another 2,742 abstracts will appear in the CD-ROM only). The full text of all accepted abstracts is available through a searchable database on the AIDS 2008 website.

Among the many issues to be explored through the AIDS 2008 Scientific Programme are: the long-term impact of antiretroviral treatment on brain function; analyses of heart attack risk in patients taking antiretrovirals; the emergence of HIV resistance; and new studies on the relative efficacy of various treatment regimens. Other timely research topics include: recent experience with so-called task shifting, or the use of non-physicians and other medical personnel to provide HIV care in areas with acute physician shortages; the current status of HIV vaccine and microbicides research; how best to approach HIV prevention in both generalized and concentrated epidemics; the use of antiretroviral therapy as a prevention strategy; and the legal and ethical implications of laws to criminalize HIV transmission.

nbsp;

Special Sessions to Highlight Key Issues, Regional Responses

Throughout the week, a number of Special Sessions will highlight key issues. On Monday, the session, HIV/AIDS and Health System Reform: Achieving Universal Coverage, will feature former US President Bill Clinton and Julio Frenk, of the Carso Institute and the Bill amp; Melinda Gates Foundation. A session on Tuesday will feature a report back from Living 2008: The Positive Leadership Summit, a pre-conference by and for people living with HIV. In the Wednesday session, Looking to the Future—the Epidemic in 2031 and New Directions in AIDS Research, Anthony Fauci, Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot will speak about the future of AIDS research and the global response, with additional remarks by three community activists from the US, South Africa and Indonesia. On Thursday, a panel of five national AIDS ambassadors will discuss the status of political leadership and accountability for universal action. Other Special Sessions will explore evidence-based approaches to addressing stigma and discrimination; HIV travel restrictions; health systems strengthening; operations research; HIV prevention; and the global financial architecture for HIV/AIDS. Additional sessions will explore strategies to address the needs of children at risk for and living with HIV, as well as the need for the integration of HIV and sexual and reproductive health services.

In addition, for the first time, the conference will offer six region-specific sessions. Each session will feature a range of experts who will help frame a discussion of key issues facing that particular region.

Open to conference delegates and the general public, the AIDS 2008 Global Village is a space to share knowledge and skills, build coalitions, and promote interactive learning among communities living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Established in 2004, the Youth Programme empowers young people by encouraging youth – including youth living with HIV – to help plan, participate in and benefit from the conference (visit www.youthaids2008.org for more information). Under the theme Culture in Action, the AIDS 2008 Cultural Programme will showcase the relationship between AIDS, art and culture. The programme will include activities and exhibits inside the Global Village and at other venues throughout Mexico City. A full schedule of programme activities is available at www.aids2008.org.

Conference Hubs – A New Feature of AIDS 2008

In an effort to expand participation to many who cannot travel to Mexico City, organizers will transmit proceedings to communities around the world through a network of conference hubs. Hubs will feature live and taped feeds of many conference sessions and some will also include moderated discussions. More than 100 hubs in 40 countries are registered, with a capacity of more than 9,500 participants. An Official Hub will be held at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine at the University of KwaZulu Natal in Durban, South Africa. All others are independent and will be hosted by nongovernmental organizations, hospitals, universities and government agencies.

-END-

nbsp;

About the Organizers

The International AIDS Conference is convened every other year by the International AIDS Society (IAS), the world’s leading independent association of HIV professionals with more than 10,000 members from 172 countries. Local partners include the Federal Government of Mexico, the Government of Mexico City and local scientific and community leadership. International institutional partners for AIDS 2008 include: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and its co-sponsors, the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Food Programme (WFP); International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO); Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+)/International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW); World YWCA; and the Asian Harm Reduction Network (AHRN).

Read more at BBC.

TellusBlog.com will be a way to show the other side. During the fall of 2008 I will work together with young journalists from Africa, Middle East, South-east Asia and South America to give our readers new perspectives on this regions. I will give the journalist a room for their views and their ideas for a better tomorrow.

Please visit http://www.tellusblog.com.

Recorded and edited by Omar Ud-Din.

The Norwegian Children and Youth Council (LNU) demands a better railway in Norway, and we also demand that the politicians make a plan for building express trains by the end of 2008. Our 72 members organizations have stated that we have to cut our emissions of green house gases, and that the government has to provide a better public transport system, and find ways to cut the emissions from the transport sector. The rich countries in the north are contributing the most to the global warming, but the countries in the developing world are the ones who will suffer the most from the consequences.

This summer LNU will raise the awareness of climate change in our member organizations by giving lectures and showing videos made of youth from Kenya, Colombia and South Africa. You can have a look at the videos here;

http://www.lnu.no/pages/nyhet.aspx?nr=11473

In addition to this, we will bring our climate train all over Norway, and take pictures of all the youngsters who demand express trains in Norway. In September, there will be an exhibition outside the parliament, with all the pictures from the campaign, to show our Minister of Transport and Communications, that she has to take the role as the climate conductor!

Stian Amadeus Antonsen

I will try to upload it around 8pm GMT every day.

I will try to upload it around 8pm GMT every day.

Don´t forget he´s an American presidential candidate, and have the pro war rhetorics in some lines. But he´s the best candidate the United States have had in history.

ldquo;People of the world – look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one.rdquo;

This summer active youths in Save the Children from the Nordic countries will spend a week together at the idyllic Kärsögården by the coast in Stockholm, Sweden. The week will be filled with different lectures, music, workshops, swimming, volleyball, discussions and much more - all with a focus on childrens rights. The festival is mainly for active members of Save the Children youth in the Nordic countries, but participants from other partner countries are also invited to join the festival.

I will lecture about media relations and lead a media workshop. I like to work together with engaged young people and help them to reach their goals.

With the support from the Swedish International Development Agency and the Nordic African Institute, the fair will invite authors and cultural personalities from the continent.

- We have had some 50 African writers in Book Fair since its inception in 1985 but never showed up an overall picture of the African literature. Now, we are making a broad effort together with the Nordic Africa Institute, Sida and several other partners and put Africa in focus on the Book amp; Library in 2010, says Anna Falck, CEO, Gothenburg Book Fair.

The fair will be held one month after the soccer World Cup finale in Johannesburg, South Africa. So the region will be in focus in Sweden over the whole summer.

I think it´s a very good idea.

This book is a journey across Africa, in all its complexity - from the townships of Johannesburg, to the back alleys of Zanzibar; from the frontline of the war in the Sudan, to the nightclubs of Cairo. It is a vivid, illuminating and often haunting composite picture of an extraordinary continent, in the words of the people who know it best.

Sally Sara was the ABCrsquo;s African Correspondent for over 5 years and is now back as a reporter for the ABC-TV series lsquo;landlinersquo;. She has reported from more than 25 countries, including Iraq, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zimbabwe. In order to gather interviews for Gogo Mama, she spent more than six months traveling solo across Africa.

Read more about the book at Amazon.com.

This development and the increasing acts of violence in the run-up to the second

round of the presidential election are a matter of grave concern to the AU Commission.

The Chairperson of the Commission has initiated consultations with the AU

Chairperson, as well as with the Chairman of SADC, the SADC mediator and other

regional leaders, to determine how best the AU could assist in addressing the current

situation.

In the meantime, the Chairperson of the Commission stresses the need for all

Zimbabwean stakeholders to exercise restraint and reiterates his call for an immediate

end to all acts of violence. He urges all Zimbabwean parties to work together to

overcome the challenges facing their country in this critical phase of its history.

Addis Ababa, 23 June 2008

One example of my work will be to interview Mark Lynas.

Read more about the meeting here.