Africa

African Children’s Well-Being Improved, but Still Inadequate

Africa has become a better place for children in recent years, but more investments are needed in health and education to further improve the lives of African children, according to a new study of the African Child Policy Forum.

The African Report on Child Well-being 2013, says conditions for children on the African continent improved in the last five years, mostly because of recent achievements in increasing the survival rate of children, reducing infant mortality and improved access to water and sanitation.

Mauritius, South Africa and Tunisia top the list of the 52 investigated African countries in the report launched by the African Child Policy Forum. They put in place national laws that protect children from violence and maltreatment. That resulted in better outcomes for children in those countries.

But executive director of the African Child Policy Forum Theophane Nikyeme says that despite the improvements, the continent is still facing serious challenges when it comes to providing basic needs for children.

“What they need is an environment in which they can grow in freedom. Where their basic needs will be satisfied,” said Nikyeme. “Where they can go to school and get proper education. They could go to a health service not from their home, not having to go through kilometers to reach their clinic. Being able to go to school all the way to university if they want to do so.”

Many children in Africa still die from preventable diseases such as malaria, diarrhea and malnutrition. While African governments committed to spend 15 percent of their budget on health, on average only 11 percent is spent.

The worst places for children to grow up are unstable and fragile countries such as the Central African Republic, Chad and Eritrea.

The report focuses on 44 indicators such as a government’s provision for children’s basic needs and the participation of children in decisions that affect them.

Countries with low GDP such as Rwanda and Malawi scored higher than countries with a relatively higher GDP such as Namibia and Equatorial Guinea.

Nikyeme says the report shows that a child’s well-being does not necessarily depend on a country’s wealth, but on the government’s commitment:

“What we are advocating for, is for governments, when they ratify a law or a treaty at the international level or regional level, they should go back to harmonize it to the national laws. But this is not happening,” said Nikyeme.

The first report on child well-being in Africa was done in 2008. While the overall well-being of children seems to have improved, the report calls upon African governments to increase investments in education, health and social protection. The African Child Forum Policy also urges African countries to enhance accountability and good governance so that the recent economic growth on the continent should translate into concrete results.

Somalia, South Sudan and Western Sahara were not included in the report because of a lack of reliable data.

Source: All Africa

IBM opens global research lab in Africa IBM’s

12th global research lab was opened here last week. It is designed to conduct applied and far-reaching exploratory research into the big challenges of the African continent and deliver commercially viable innovations that impact people’s lives.

 The facility features one of Africa’s most powerful computer hubs, giving IBM researchers the ability to analyse and draw insight from vast amounts of data in search for solutions to Africa’s challenges such as energy, water, transportation, agriculture, healthcare, financial inclusion, human mobility and public safety.

“The establishment of this research laboratory underpins the government’s commitment to innovation ecosystems that are already available in Kenya,” said the president of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta. The lab is supported by the Kenyan ICT Authority.

The lab’s research agenda will include the development of cognitive computing technologies that integrate learning and reasoning capabilities, enabling experts to make better decisions in areas such as healthcare delivery and financial services.

“We are currently experiencing the emergence of a new Africa – one where science and technology are enabling a pivotal ‘leap frog’ moment allowing governments and businesses to drive economic growth, raise the standard of living and compete with their global counterparts,” said Kamal Bhattacharya, director, IBM Research-Africa.

“The launch of Africa’s first full-scale, technology research facility will help lay the foundation for the continent’s future scientific and economic independence,” he added. Nicholas Nesbitt, country general manager, East Africa, said it was not just about science and technology, “but also about innovating new business models and partnering with local enterprises to ensure that our new solutions have the maximum impact on business and society.”

Source: The Times of India

 

Doctor Suspended after feeling up patient

A Blenheim doctor who unnecessarily intimately examined a South Korean vineyard worker and then altered his notes has been banned for 18 months and must always have a chaperone present with females on his return to practice.

Ravi Kiran Reddy Tamma, who has returned to India, worked for the Marlborough After Hours GP Services in Blenheim in August 2011, when he examined a South Korean woman who was working in the vineyards.

She believed she had a recurrence of a urinary tract infection.

Dr Tamma did not explain she could have a chaperone present and examined her completely naked, during which he touched her vagina and massaged her abdomen and legs, all while not wearing gloves.

He made no record of her breathing, pulse, blood pressure or heart rate and diagnosed her with a kidney infection.

The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal said Dr Tamma also changed his notes to justify what he knew to be an inappropriate examination.

Dr Tamma admitted he had breached professional standards.

The tribunal ruled he be suspended for 18 months and for three years after that he must have a chaperone present whenever he sees a female patient.

In addition:

  • his notes will be randomly audited;
  • he will be assessed by a sexual misconduct team;
  • he must take a course on maintaining appropriate professional boundaries;
  • he must pay nearly $19,000 towards the case against him.

Dr Tamma, in a letter from India, apologised to the patient for his behaviour. He said he wanted to return to practice in New Zealand but wanted to make sure he was mentally stable first.

Source: 3news

Ethiopian farmer claims he is 160 years old

He claims to have clear memories of Italy’s invasion of his country in the 19th century. However, there is no birth certificate to prove his age.

Many people won’t be aware of Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia in 1895, but one man doesn’t just know about the battle – he claims to have lived through it.

Retired farmer Dhaqabo Ebba, from Ethiopia, says he is a staggering 160 years old, which would make him the world’s oldest living man.

He claims to have clear memories of Italy’s invasion of his country in the 19th century. However, there is no birth certificate to prove his age.

In a statement to Oromiya TV, he provided so much detail on the history of his local area that reporter Mohammed Ademo became convinced that Mr Ebba must be at least 160 years old.

This would make him 46 years older than the oldest ever recorded man.

“When Italy invaded Ethiopia I had two wives, and my son was old enough to herd cattle, “said Ebba.

He then recounted his eight-day horseback rides to Addis Ababa as a child – a journey that takes only a few hours today.

As Ebba grew up in an oral society, there is no paper trail and no living witnesses to verify his age.

However, if his claim can be medically confirmed, he would oust 115-year-old Misao Okawa, who is currently recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest living person.

Source: Fox news

PASET – A World Bank takes initiative for developing skills

A workshop held in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa led by a minister of education, from nine African countries and four emerging economic power countries like China, Korea, India and Brazil.

The workshop was facilitated by the World Bank and hosted by the government of Ethiopia, aimed to create a Partnership in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology called PASET between Sub-Saharan African countries and the emerging nations.

The partnership idea was induced by Makhtar Diop, the World Bank’s vice-president for Africa and a former Senegalese minister of finance, supporting to promote science and technology.

The PASET initiative

PASET – a partnership for skills development in Africa covering the whole spectrum of education, from Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to higher education, in applied sciences.

The partner countries already make significant investments in Africa, to develop necessary human resources to operate and maintain the infrastructure being built and to maximize the return.

Though they already have engagements in human capital development in Africa, mostly through scholarships, may not have been focused towards the African countries’ human resources development plans.

It would be impossible for the World Bank to involve all Sub-Saharan African countries at the initial stage. For a first phase it will involve in nine countries: Ethiopia, Guinea, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan and Tanzania.

The engagements proposed covered the following broad areas:

  1. faculty development
  2. agricultural training and research
  3. university-industry linkages;
  4. use of ICT
  5. training of TVET instructors and
  6. Infrastructural development. 

The partner countries highlighted their expertise in specific areas relevant to the PASET initiative. These included development in agriculture and training of TVET instructors by China; use of ICT in education by Korea; institutional and industry collaboration by India; and postgraduate training and research by Brazil.

The workshop in particular provided opportunities for bilateral meetings between the African and partner countries to discuss possible future collaboration.

There was unanimous support and commitment to PASET by the participating African countries. The need for mutual understanding, trust and benefits in all partnerships was emphasized again and again.

It was acknowledged that Africa was unfamiliar territory for most of the partner countries and PASET provided an opportunity for them to better understand the development needs of the African countries. Similarly, PASET would promote greater collaboration among the African countries themselves, enabling them to share experiences and make joint proposals to partner countries.