From: [log in to unmask] Reply-To: [log in to unmask] Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2002 17:59:27 -0600 (CST) To: <[log in to unmask]> Subject: PAMBAZUKA NEWS 50 PART I - GOMA, CONGO: CITY AIR MAKES MEN FREE? PAMBAZUKA NEWS 50 * 8482 SUBSCRIBERS A weekly electronic newsletter for social justice in Africa PART I: 1. Editorial, 2. Conflict, Emergencies, and Crises, 3. Rights and Democracy, 4. Corruption, 5. Health, 6. Education and Social Welfare, 7. Women and Gender, 8. Refugees and Forced Migration, 9. Racism and Xenophobia, 10. Environment, 11. Media, 12. Development PART II: 13. Internet and Technology, 14. eNewsletters and Mailing Lists, 15. Fundraising, 16. Courses, Seminars, and Workshops, 17. Advocacy Resources, 18. Jobs, 19. Books and Arts, 20. Letters and Comments Look for Part II in your mailbox tomorrow! If you have e-mail access, you can get web resources listed in this Newsletter by sending a message to [log in to unmask] with the web address (usually starting with http://) in the body of your message. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 1.EDITORIAL GOMA, CONGO: CITY AIR MAKES MEN FREE? Ben Wisner A series of question come to mind in the face of the damage to a large town in a volcanic eruption. Principle question is suggested by the irony of Goethe's aphorism. Does "city air make men free" in the case of Goma? Why is Goma where it is? What was its function in the days of Belgian colonialism? Under Mobutu? In 1994? Now? Is it a life boat for people in a sea of economic and security threats, or is it a death trap? Another question concerns "disaster diplomacy" in the broad sense. This is a very unstable region where there are several armed groups dating from the terrible events in Rwanda in 1994 and also the civil war within Mobutu's Zaire and, after his downfall, within the new Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter war became internationalized as a number of African countries became involved on one side or the other. There is presently a cease fire supervised by the United Nations. Will armed groups take advantage of this situation to do more than loot, possibly beginning hostilities again? Will people displaced by the volcano be in danger from armed gangs? To what extent has this long history of war and instability undermined the capacity of local government, at municipal level, such as in the sizeable town (small city) of Goma (pop. 500,000)? Would more municipal capacity have provided clearer, more timely, and credible warnings and instructions? A third cluster of questions surround this issue of risk communication. Why have the population movements sea-sawed back and forth between Rwanda and Congo? Why don't displaced persons want to stay in the camps that have been established for them farther from the volcano, deeper in Rwanda (an additional 20 km)? What efforts at risk communication have been undertaken? RECOVERY What was the status quo ante? Is that to be the goal of recovery? What was municipal capacity before? What was scientific capacity? If one agrees with Oxfam UK director, Barbara Stocking, that the prior situation was, in itself, a human development disaster, then what should the goal of recovery be? In the future there will be an on-going volcano treat. (With the next heavy rain will there be mass movements of cement-like ash called lahar?) Are there more and less exposed sites in greater Goma? Have they been mapped? Will people be resettled there? How? Many cities "live with volcanoes". There are dozens of examples in the Caribbean, Central America, the Andes, Philippines, Indonesia, and Japan. Seattle sits within view of Mt. Rainer, and Quito just below Pinchicha. Think of Hilo, Hawaii; San Salvador, El Salvador; Puebla, Mexico; or Kagoshima, Japan. What can they teach Goma? What are the preconditions for Goma's being able to institutionalize such lessons? In this context an interesting comparison presents itself. As one looks back a few years hence at the recovery process on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, where the principle city was destroyed, and the recovery of Goma, how will the two compare? On a more philosophical note, a few questions about urbanism and urbanization suggest themselves. Throughout history cities have served regions of towns, villages, homesteads. They have had links with other cities of the same size and larger ones. They have been part of networks. Cities have economic, administrative, military, and social functions. Presumably Goma has been such a city? Has it slowly ceased to be a city in any of those senses since 1994? If so, can it be such a city again? Does one perhaps need a new name for a new kind of city: isolated by disintegration of the national state administrative and economic network? Maintained by the economic activity of foreign relief agencies, militias, and peace keepers? At risk to a wide variety of natural and technological hazards because of the deterioration of managerial capacity, economic viability, and deterioration of infrastructure? Sarajevo? Kandahar? Mogadishu? Now: Goma? Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=5402 Contact: [log in to unmask] /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 2.CONFLICT, EMERGENCIES, AND CRISES ANGOLA: UN SANCTIONS MONITORS IN LUANDA http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp? ReportID=19223&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ANGOLA Members of the UN Monitoring Mechanism on Sanctions against UNITA are in Luanda to hold discussions with diplomats, civil society and President Jose Eduardo dos Santos' government. CONCERN DISPATCHES EMERGENCY AID TO DR CONGO http://www.concern.ie/news/congo_press.htm Concern has responded by allocating an initial €100,000 to aid those affected by the eruption of the Nyiragongo Volcano near Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. DRC FACES A HUMANITARIAN CRISIS http://dw-world.de/english/0,3367,4789_W_412498,00.html Aid agencies in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been struggling to help thousands of desperate people in the aftermath of a volcanic eruption. Many refugees refused to go into camps to be fed and insisted on returning to their homes in Goma to inspect damage, relief officials said on Sunday. DRC: AGREEMENT IN BRUSSELS AMONG NON-BELLIGERENTS http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp? ReportID=19440&SelectRegion=Great_Lakes&SelectCountry=DRC Representatives of the political opposition and civil society of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) - meeting in Brussels this week to discuss the future of their country - signed a 14-page document on Thursday aimed at paving the way towards the inter-Congolese dialogue. DRC: AID SHIFTS TO GOMA AS VOLCANO JUDGED SPENT http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20020121/wl/congo_democratic_volcano_dc.html Aid agencies were poised to start substantial emergency supplies to the stricken Congolese town of Goma on Tuesday after a leading expert said Africa's deadliest volcanic eruption in 25 years appeared over. DRC: AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT WILL FUND EMERGENCY RELIEF IN CONGO http://www.ausaid.gov.au/media/release.cfm? BC=Media&Id=8341_3495_5823_8443_8881 The Australian government will provide $500,000 in emergency aid following the devastation caused by the eruption of Volcano Nyiragongo last Thursday in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. MR STRAW, I PRESUME http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,636278,00.html This week the UK Foreign Secretary begins a three-day trip to the Great Lakes region of Central Africa. Next month Tony Blair will follow with a trip expected to take in Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. In his conference speech last October, Blair said that Africa is a 'scar on the conscience of the world'. Whether he has anything more than a sticking plaster to offer as a cure will soon become clear. OXFAM RESPOND TO THE CONGO DISASTER http://www.oxfam.org.uk/whatnew/press/drcmoral.html Oxfam has commited funds to assist victims of Congo volcanic eruption and has appealed to international community to honour their moral obligation to help Congo. It says the international community has failed to help Congo escape years of war and now they have a chance to get it right following Thursday's horrific volcanic eruption in Goma. ROADMAP TO UNILATERALIST NUCLEAR POLICY http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2002/0201nuke.html The congressionally mandated Nuclear Posture Review (NPR, not to be confused, even for a second with "National Public Radio"), released last week, was an opportunity for President Bush and his team to provide a framework for formulating a U.S. nuclear strategy for the post-cold war world--something the Clinton administration failed to do with its own nuclear review in 1994. However, much like the Defense Department's Quadrennial Defense Review, which was described by Senator Carl Levin as "full of decisions deferred," ambiguity prevails. SIERRA LEONE: 3,000 WEAPONS BURNED TO SYMBOLISE END OF CONFLICT http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp? ReportID=19447&SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=SIERRA_LEONE A symbolic weapons burning ceremony took place at Lungi, north of the capital Freetown, on Friday to mark the end of a decade of civil conflict in Sierra Leone. During the event 3,000 weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were destroyed, Francis Kai-Kai, Executive Secretary of the National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration, told IRIN on Friday. SOMALIA AS A US MILITARY TARGET http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2002/0201somalia.html The east African nation of Somalia is being mentioned with increasing frequency as a possible next target in the U.S.-led war against international terrorism. Somalia is a failed state--with what passes for the central government controlling little more than a section of the national capital of Mogadishu, a separatist government in the north, and rival warlords and clan leaders controlling most the remainder of the country. Before the U.S. attacks that impoverished country, however, it is important to recognize how Somalia became a possible haven for the followers of Osama bin Laden and what might result if America goes to war. SOMALIA: OPPOSITION GROUP URGES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO HELP http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp? ReportID=19425&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=SOMALIA The Somali opposition grouping, Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), on Friday urged the international community to step in and resolve once and for all the civil conflict that has blighted the war- ravaged country since 1991. SUDAN: CAUTIOUS WELCOME FOR NUBA CEASE-FIRE ACCORD http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp? ReportID=19662&SelectRegion=East_Africa&SelectCountry=SUDAN The government of Sudan and the rebel Sudanese People's Liberation Movement/Army from the Nuba Mountains (SPLM/A-Nuba) on Saturday signed a renewable six-month cease-fire agreement for the area in Southern Kordofan, south-central Sudan. UGANDA: "DUKA-DUKA!": MEMORIES OF THE CIVIL WAR http://www.uct.ac.za/org/agi/newslet/vol9/duka.htm Reading the title of this article and knowing the history of Uganda, one may ask: “which war?” There have been several civil wars in my country since independence; in fact, currently (un)civil war rages in the northern and southwestern regions of Uganda. The civil strife that I refer to here is that which Ugandans witnessed between 1981 and 1986. The war itself was concentrated in the so-called “Luwero Triangle” - a large swathe of land lying just 50 miles northwest of the capital city, Kampala. Nevertheless, generalized violence and bloodshed rippled throughout the length and breadth of the country and touched each one of us. Moreover, the civil war took place against a historical backdrop of vicious military and civilian dictatorships in Uganda's post-independent politics. The words “duka-duka” were reminiscent of the times - running for cover and fleeing civil strife. ZIMBABAWE: HUNT FOR MUGABE'S ASSETS http://www.mg.co.za/mg/za/archive/2002jan/features/21jan-zim1.html Commonwealth, European Union and United States officials have begun investigating the overseas assets of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, his family and his close associates in readiness for possible sanctions against the country. ZIMBABWE CRACKS DOWN ON 'ILLEGAL' JOURNALISTS http://www.mg.co.za/mg/za/news.html#zim Zimbabwean authorities are searching for several foreign journalists who entered the country as tourists in defiance of a ban on most visiting correspondents, a senior government official said on Thursday. ZIMBABWE: CRACKS APPEAR IN MUGABE CABINET http://www.mg.co.za/mg/za/news.html#crax The Zimbabwe government has failed, for the second time in a week, to introduce in parliament a controversial bill that would clamp down on press freedom. ZIMBABWE: DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES'S FOOD SECURITY FUNDING COMES THROUGH http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp? ReportID=19842&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZIMBABWE Christian AID,Save the Children and UN World Food Programmes's funding for food security in Zimbabwe's poorest regions has had a positive impact on intended beneficiaries. ZIMBABWE: MUGABE IS LOSING ARMY'S SUPPORT, SAYS WAR VETERAN http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=3451 The Zimbabwean army is disillusioned with Robert Mugabe and will not support his attempts to cling to power if he loses the forthcoming presidential election, according to a former guerrilla commander who was close to Mr Mugabe during the war that brought him to power. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 3.RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY CAMEROON:HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER TARGETED AND HARASSED The arrest of a respected human rights lawyer underlines a consistent pattern of intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders in Cameroon, Amnesty International have said. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=5342 GUINEA-BISSAU: LAWYERS TO FINALLY VISIT COUP DETAINEES http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp? ReportID=19446&SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=GUINEA-BISSAU After spending one and half months in prison, the 29 alleged plotters of a coup attempt reported in Guinea Bissau last month, will finally be allowed to meet defence lawyers, the Portuguese news agency Lusa reported on Friday. MADAGASCAR'S CHILD BONDAGE http://www.mg.co.za/mg/za/archive/2002jan/features/24jan-madagascar.html Thousands of Madagascar children find themselves in domestic slavery, according to this piece published on the Daily Mail & Guardian. MADAGASCAR: PROTESTS SET TO RESUME AFTER COURT RULING http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp? ReportID=19362&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=MADAGASCAR Presidential candidate Marc Ravalomanana has called on his supporters to return to the streets in protest following a High Constitutional Court ruling on Wednesday to recount votes cast in presidential polls on 16 December. NIGERIA: HUNDREDS FLEE AFTER MOB KILLS SEVEN POLICEMEN http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp? ReportID=19685&SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=NIGERIA Hundreds of people fled a rural town in Nigeria’s northern Katsina State fearing reprisal attacks after a mob killed seven policemen, residents said on Monday. NIGERIA: ICFTU DEMANDS SWIFT RELEASE OF NLC LEADER The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) reacted today with outrage at the arbitrary arrest of the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Adams Oshiomhole. In a letter to ILO Director General, Juan Somavia, the Brussels-based labour group strongly condemned the arrest of the labour leader, incarcerated while leading a nation-wide protest over a hike in petrol prices. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=5306 NIGERIA: LAWYERS TEAM UP AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY A consortium of Nigerian lawyers opposed to the death penalty, are representing Safiya Husseini Tungar Tudu, the 30-year-old woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, in the northern state of Sokoto. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=5331 RWANDA: TRIBUNAL RELEASES FIRST CD-ROM http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp? ReportID=19420&SelectRegion=Great_Lakes&SelectCountry=RWANDA The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has released a CD-ROM containing the decisions and papers from the court's first five years of operation, the first such conference tool the UN has produced in international criminal justice, the world body reported on Thursday. SADC SUMMIT COMMUNIQUE http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=3420 Final Communique of the SADC Extra-Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government, January 2002, Blantyre, Malawi. SIERRA LEONE:AN INDEPENDENT PROSECUTION POLICY MUST BE ASSURED If the Special Court for Sierra Leone is to tackle impunity effectively and fairly and contribute to the peace and reconciliation process, the independence of the prosecutor must be assured and monitored, adequate and sustained funding must be guaranteed, and a clear relationship between the Special Court and Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) established," Amnesty International has said. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=5377 SWAZILAND: JAILED PRESIDENT OF PUDEMO ON TRIAL THIS WEEK Swaziland Solidarity Network The political landscape in Swaziland is daily changing due to the intensified brutality and terror of a desperate regime. This desperacy is met with the untiring resolve of the struggling masses of our country to meet fire with fire. This last week saw a huge turn out at a National Prayer service for the jailed President of PUDEMO – Cde Mario Masuku, just a few days before the beginning of the 10-days marathon trial in the capital city of Swaziland, Mbabane, which begins on the 24th January, 2002. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=5278 Contact: [log in to unmask] UNIQUE COURT TO TRY KILLERS OF SIERRA LEONE http://www.mg.co.za/mg/za/archive/2002jan/features/18jan-sierra.html The United Nations and Sierra Leone's government on Wednesday agreed to establish a unique war crimes tribunal to try those most responsible for atrocities in a civil war noted for its horrific treatment of civilians, particularly children. US: ANTI-TERROR CAMPAIGN CLOAKING HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE The anti-terror campaign led by the United States is inspiring opportunistic attacks on civil liberties around the world, Human Rights Watch warned in its new annual global survey. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=5318 US: TOUGHER THAN TERROR http://www.prospect.org/print/V13/2/slaughter-a.html A protracted US war against terror must combine military force with the resources of the criminal-justice system. And this exercise must be multilateral in two complementary senses: Military campaigns and their aftermath require the assembly of coalitions, the cooperation of allies, and the use of international peacekeeping forces and relief efforts under the aegis of international agencies. Furthermore, a war against terror necessarily requires the cooperation of many nations in hunting down and bringing to justice individual suspects. Simply to try all suspected terrorists before U.S. military tribunals intended for emergency battlefield conditions would put America at odds not only with its own domestic constitutional safeguards but with international conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war. ZIMBABWE FACES 'SMART SANCTIONS' EU Loses Patience Over Human Rights Zimbabwe faces the near certainty of EU sanctions yesterday after failing to give assurances on press freedom, or to say how international observers will be able to monitor the presidential elections. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=5390 ZIMBABWE: ANNAN CONCERNED, BUT WELCOMES SADC ACTION http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp? ReportID=19213&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=ZIMBABWE UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has welcomed Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's assurances of a free and fair election in March, but says he is "acutely" concerned by the promulgation of a battery of restrictive laws in the troubled southern African country. ZIMBABWE: BASELESS ALLEGATIONS AGAINST CIVIL SOCIETY ARE AN OPEN INVITATION TO ATTACK THEM Baseless allegations against a human rights organization printed in Zimbabwe's state controlled daily newspaper signal the newest phase in the government's campaign to undermine civil society, according to Amnesty International. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=5378 ZIMBABWE: PRO-MUGABE MILITANTS BLOCK OPPOSITION RALLY http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=3446 At least 18 people were injured in Zimbabwe on Sunday when pro government militants blocked the opposition from holding a rally, the party's secretary general said. ZIMBABWE: SIGNS OF PROGRESS - ZIMRIGHTS There are signs that the Zimbabwean government is trying to honour commitments it made to its neighbours at the recent Southern African Development Community (SADC)summit in Malawi, a leading human rights activist told IRIN on Tuesday. Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=5393 /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 4.CORRUPTION BENIN: NINE MAGISTRATES REPORTEDLY ARRESTED FOR EMBEZZLEMENT http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/article.html? id=020121005408&query=corruption In Benin, the determination of President Kerekou's government to fight corruption is bearing fruit. In this connection, nine magistrates have just been arrested. They are accused of stealing more than 1bn CFA francs. KENYA'S LIST OF CORRUPTION UNVEILED http://www.nationaudio.com/News/DailyNation/19012002/News/News61.html Three government departments have been ranked as the most corrupt in Kenya in a dramatic new national survey. Kenya Police top the bribery league followed by the Ministry of Public Works and the Immigration Department. KENYA: POLICE CONTEST REPORT OF SERIOUS CORRUPTION http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp? ReportID=19689&SelectRegion=East_Africa&SelectCountry=KENYA The Kenyan police and the ruling party have both rejected a new report stating that the police force is the most heavily bribed institution in Kenya, saying that it was an effort to discredit the government and its efforts to fight corruption. KENYA: TRAFFIC POLICE TARGETED IN LATEST WAR ON CORRUPTION http://www.nationaudio.com/News/DailyNation/Today/News/News7.html The police are the first targets of an "aggressive war" on public corruption that has been launched in Kenya. Mr Swaleh Slim's anti- corruption police unit chose the graft-prone traffic police department as its first stop. Graft fighting experts will assess the magnitude of the problem in the police department before they move to other government departments perceived to be dens of corruption. SOUTH AFRICA: CRIME, CORRUPTION TOP LIST OF OBSTACLES http://www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1,3523,1005931-6099-0,00.html SA OPINION makers have identified crime and corruption as the two biggest obstacles to doing business in the country. SOUTH AFRICA: THE ARMS DEAL AND HIV/AIDS http://www.uct.ac.za/org/agi/newslet/vol9/arms.htm The Strategic Defence Procurement Package, better known as the arms deal, has angered the South African public. Common sense indicates that in the middle of a health crisis such as HIV/Aids which requires massive public investment, spending large amounts of money on military hardware is gravely inappropriate. Media attention on the arms deal has been primarily focused on Cabinet's lack of accountability to parliament, and the corruption in the procurement process. These are crucial issues that deserve close media scrutiny. Furthermore, without the incentives for graft that exist in the arms industry, it seems unlikely that the deal would have taken place, so an analysis of the arms deal that does not consider corruption would be incomplete. However, it is arguably the misplaced priority given to arms spending that is at the core of public dissatisfaction with the deal. If no evidence of corruption had arisen, and Cabinet had received unequivocal approval from parliament for the deal, it is likely that civil society organisations would still have reacted with indignation. ZIMBABWE: HELP NEEDED TO TRACE MUGABE FUNDS, SAYS PWC http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/article.html? id=020118001219&query=mugabe International auditingfirms operating in southern Africa said an investigation into the assets of Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe, and those of his associates would be strengthened by the co-operation of international donor agencies. /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 5.HEALTH ETHIOPIA: CHURCH LEADER WARNS AGAINST SPREAD OF AIDS http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp? ReportID=19811&SelectRegion=Horn_of_Africa&SelectCountry=ETHIOPIA The head of the Ethiopian Orthodox church has warned about the spread of AIDS in a sermon marking the country's holiest day. Patriarch Abune Paulos, in an address to celebrate Ethiopian Epiphany, urged the community to provide support and show compassion to victims of the virus. INASP HEALTH LINKS http://www.inasp.info/links/health/ 'INASP Health Links' is a new Gateway to selected Web sites of special interest to health professionals, medical library communities, publishers, and NGOs in developing and transitional countries. Please have a look and let us know what you think of the site and, especially, how we might improve it. MOZAMBIQUE: CHOLERA EPIDEMIC KILLS 139 http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/01/01182002/ap_46173.asp A cholera epidemic in 8 of Mozambique's 11 provinces has infected 11,527 people and killed 139 in only a few months, health officials said. The epidemic began in August in the central Zambezia province, where more than half the deaths have been recorded, Avertino Barreto, the deputy national director of health, told state radio. SA: MORE THINKING NEEDED TO TACKLE CHOLERA http://www.mg.co.za/mg/za/archive/2002jan/features/22jan-cholera1.html Lindy Morrison and Richard Holden, both officials of the Mvula Trust, a water and sanitation NGO working in rural and peri-urban communities, suggest how to tackle cholera in South Africa. SA: TACKLING THE CHOLERA CRISIS http://www.mg.co.za/mg/za/archive/2002jan/features/22jan-cholera.html About 3 400 people in KwaZulu-Natal have been infected with cholera over the past six weeks and Sapa reports a further outbreak in the Eastern Cape. SOME SEXUAL LUBRICANTS MAY INACTIVATE HIV http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_hiv_recent_rep.cfm? dr_cat=1&show=yes&dr_DateTime=17-Jan-02#9004 Some "safe, inexpensive [and] widely available" sexual lubricants containing two compounds reduced HIV replication by 99.9% in HIV-infected sperm, according to a University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston study published in the November 2001 issue of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, Salon.com reports. SOUTH AFRICA: MEDICAL ASSOCIATION ENDORSES USE OF POST-EXPOSURE TREATMENT FOR RAPE SURVIVORS http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_hiv_recent_rep.cfm? dr_cat=1&show=yes&dr_DateTime=16-Jan-02#8979 The South African Medical Association, which represents 17,000 doctors, two- thirds of whom work in the public sector, has announced its support for physicians who prescribe post-exposure prophylaxis antiretroviral treatment for rape survivors, despite the national government's policy against such treatment, the South African Press Association reports. TANZANIA: SCIENTISTS FIND WILD CHIMP WITH SIMIAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_hiv.cfm#9023 AIDS researchers have discovered simian immunodeficiency virus, an HIV-like virus, for the first time in the wild in a Tanzanian chimpanzee, the AP/New York Times reports. The findings "bolster" the theory that HIV originated in chimps, Dr. Beatrice Hahn, a molecular geneticist at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, said in her report that appears in the journal Science. <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>> To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>