IRAQ: Blix Says Baghdad "Making Effort"; Bush "Will Not Wait";
February 7, 2003U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission head Hans Blix told CNN today that the fact that U.N. weapons inspectors were able to interview an Iraqi scientist in private yesterday for the first time shows Iraq is "making an effort" to cooperate with the inspectors. "We want to see a lot more this weekend," added Blix, referring to meetings he and International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei plan to hold with top Iraqi officials (Associated Press/MSNBC.com, Feb. 7).
Following U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's presentation of the case against Iraq Wednesday at the U.N. Security Council, which reportedly failed to change the minds of council members opposed to going to war with Iraq over its alleged weapons of mass destruction activity, U.S. President George W. Bush said yesterday that the United States "will not wait to see what terrorist states could do with chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons" they could ostensibly obtain from Iraq.
Citing "sources" who said Iraqi President Saddam Hussein "recently" authorized the use of chemical weapons even though Iraq says it does not possess such weapons, Bush said Hussein's "violations of Security Council resolutions are evident, and they continue to this hour." Iraq, he said, is "pursuing an elaborate campaign to conceal its weapons materials and to hide or intimidate key experts and scientists, all in direct defiance of Security Council [Resolution] 1441."
Amid talk of the possibility of another council resolution backing a U.S.-led attack on Iraq, Bush said Washington "would welcome and support a new resolution" but in any case "is resolved to take whatever action is necessary to defend ourselves and disarm the Iraqi regime."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who met yesterday with Blix and ElBaradei, expressed sentiments similar to those of Bush, saying London would still support war even if a council resolution to authorize one was vetoed by a permanent council member (CNN.com, Feb. 7). A British diplomat cited by AP said the United Kingdom will probably introduce a new council resolution to authorize the war, a move the diplomat said will not happen for at least 10 days so that the council can hear from Blix and ElBaradei next Friday (Edith Lederer, AP/Yahoo! News, Feb. 7).
French President Jacques Chirac said Powell's presentation was not sufficient to justify a war (CNN.com). French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said yesterday that France is not "systematically pacifist" and could accept a war as a "last resort" but that inspectors should be given more time (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo! News, Feb. 7).
Russia said today that there is no need for a second council resolution (CNN.com).
Mexico and South Africa, acting on behalf of Nonaligned Movement countries, are seeking an open U.N. meeting on Iraq before next Friday's briefing by the inspection heads, according to diplomats cited by AP (Lederer, AP/Yahoo! News).
Former U.N. Inspector, Others Assess Likelihood Of War
At a panel yesterday at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, foreign policy experts said U.S.-led forces could begin attacking Iraq as soon as early March. According to former senior U.N. weapons inspector David Kay, the only options that could stall U.S. action against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein at this point would be either a "bullet in Saddam's head" or "Travelocity [airline] tickets for a large amount of families."
The panel uniformly praised Powell's presentation to the Security Council, saying it helped bolster the case for military action.
"One of the finest performances I've ever seen," Kay said, adding that Powell's presentation was so effective, no one present claimed afterward that Iraq was complying with inspectors.
One of the strongest sections of Powell's presentation was his warning that the United Nations needed to act or risk sinking into irrelevance, Kay said. Powell's warning was a powerful threat to the smaller countries of the United Nations, which see the international body as one of their few checks on U.S. power and ability to act on a global stage, Kay said.
Kenneth Pollack, a former member of the National Security Council during the Clinton administration, said however that while Powell was effective in increasing U.S. support for an attack by explaining the justification, he was less successful in convincing the international community. He added that while the leaders of a number of countries have privately expressed support for U.S. action against Iraq, they have also warned the United States that it needs to do more to increase public support within their countries.
"Powell's presentation was a great start, but it was [only] a start," Pollack said (Mike Nartker, UN Wire, Feb. 7).
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors Concerned
UNESCO goodwill ambassadors at their annual Paris meeting issued a statement yesterday expressing "great concern over the risk of war in Iraq." They called on Iraq to "provide ... cooperation and to comply fully with the requirements expressed by the United Nations Security Council" and on "all states members of the United Nations to work for peace" (UNESCO release, Feb. 6).
With war possibly approaching, UNESCO is working with Iraq to protect the country's wealth of historical artifacts. The U.N. agency said that any countries involved in an Iraq war must respect the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, which prohibits targeting cultural sites unless it is militarily necessary to do so.
Neither London nor Washington is a party to the pact, but UNESCO said it is confident they would comply. "If there were to be a conflict, we would give the warring parties more precise instructions," said UNESCO deputy cultural heritage chief Laurent Levi-Strauss (Joelle Diderich, Reuters/MSNBC.com, Feb. 7).
U.S. Gives $12.1 Million To UNHCR For Iraq
The United States yesterday gave the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees $12.1 million to handle a possible humanitarian crisis in Iraq, bringing Washington's contribution to UNHCR for the purpose to $15 million. UNHCR has also received almost $900,000 from other countries for Iraq (UNHCR release, Feb. 6).
Refugees International said yesterday that humanitarian planning for Iraq is "lagging" because of "lack of funding, United Nations and U.S. legal restrictions on the operations of humanitarian agencies in Iraq and an apparent initial reluctance by the U.N. to accept the inevitability of war" (Refugees International release, Feb. 6). (keralamonitor.com)
SWAZILAND: King fails to address key issues
MBABANE, 7 February (IRIN) - King Mswati III delivered a much anticipated
speech on Friday when he opened the Houses of Parliament, but his briefest
State of the Kingdom address ever avoided mentioning the on-going
political crises, and offered only one new initiative to combat AIDS,
poverty and the current food crisis."We all bear individual responsibility for our health," the king said of
the root cause of the kingdom's HIV adult infection rate, which stands at
38.6 percent.Mswati thanked the United States for its contribution of R500 million (US
$60 million), announced this week, which will be allocated to AIDS
prevention, education and treatment efforts. But he committed no new
government resources, even as he declared: "There is a very real
possibility that the Swazi nation will cease to exist (because of AIDS)."The initiative Mswati announced to the applause of the 65 assembled
members of parliament and 30 Senators was a US $7.2 million fund to assist
AIDS orphans.A report last year by the UN Children's Fund predicted that by 2010,
Swaziland will have a population of 150,000 orphans, which might
constitute one-eighth of all Swazis. Some 17,000 children are orphaned
annually.But the financially hard-pressed kingdom - Swaziland has been in an
economic recession for three years, according to the Central Bank - can do
little to alleviate several simultaneous crises, other than "rearrange the
chairs on the deck of the Titanic", political activist Maphadlana Shongwe
told IRIN.Shongwe was reacting to Mswati's announcement that he was shifting unused
poverty alleviation funds to assist drought-stricken families.The king began his speech discussing the food crisis that presently
affects 287,000 Swazis. He called for the creation of new irrigation
schemes, but did not unveil any. He blamed the food crisis on a lack of
rainfall, but did not acknowledge calls for land reform.Eighty percent of Swazis are peasant farmers who reside on communal Swazi
Nation Land under palace-appointed chiefs, and cannot secure bank loans to
purchase irrigation equipment because they do not own title deed to their
properties. Agricultural experts say this has hindered agricultural
production and compromised food security.Mswati called upon communities to identify their members in need, and take
care of them. Similarly, the king spent a long portion of his speech
calling for respect for the elderly, many of whom are destitute. But he
offered no programme to address the needs of the elderly.Instead of relying on visiting foreign health care specialists, the king
said: "We need to develop our own health care specialists." But he
specified no programme to accomplish this.In an unprecedented move, Mswati finished his speech, and then spoke
extemporaneously for another 30 minutes, without translation, leaving a
gallery of foreign envoys confused. His remarks seemed aimed at the
conservative peasant majority that constitute his chief constituency.That constituency will be called upon to approve a national constitution,
a burning issue Mswati dismissed in a few sentences. Although the king
commissioned a constitution in 1996, with a delivery date set for two
years later, the process is now in its seventh year. The king gave no
timetable for its completion.Mswati was similarly dismissive of a major controversy over the "rule of
law" in the kingdom. The attorney-general and police commissioner are
among those either convicted of contempt of court or facing those charges.
They are among the palace appointees who have thwarted decisions of the
High Court and the Court of Appeal.In November, Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini said the government would
refuse to implement an appeal court ruling that removed Mswati's power to
rule by decree. The six appeal court magistrates resigned in protest. The
European Union (EU), United States, Amnesty International and the
International Bar Association expressed their concern. US and EU envoys
told the government that trade links could be jeopardised if a commitment
to rule of law was not demonstrated.In his speech, Mswati waved away such concerns by declaring: "We abide by
rule of law, and we will continue to do so." Members of the Swaziland Democratic Alliance, which seeks a constitutional monarchy within a democratic government, said the monarch had failed to tackle the key issues."I am disappointed that key issues like rule of law, land reform and the
purchase of a R720 million [US $86.7 million] luxury jet for the king's
private use were either glossed over or not mentioned at all," Constance
Nxumalo of the Swaziland Youth Congress said.King Mswati gives two major addresses annually. The second will be in
September at a celebration combining his 35th birthday, a national holiday
in Swaziland, and the country's 35th year of independence.WHO Action Plan for War Affected Africa
The Organization calls for immediate donor support to respond to the unfolding human catastrophe
ACCRA. The World Health Organization today issued a joint Action Plan to
alleviate human suffering in crisis shaken West Africa. During a
three-day meeting in Accra with officials from Ministries of Health of the
region, WHO staff examined the challenges of the health sector and
finalized a co-ordinated response strategy.
This meeting was organized as part of a UN situation analysis mission led
by Carolyn McAskie, the Secretary General's Humanitarian Envoy to the
crisis in Cote d' Ivoire.
"WHO urges donors to respond to the humanitarian disaster in West Africa
in order to avoid a total break down of the region's health systems", said
Dr. Melville George, WHO's Representative in Ghana, "We must take
immediate action to assist countries to deal with the crisis. Health
facilities need to be strengthened, disease surveillance must be improved
and access to health care to the most vulnerable must be ensured", he
said.
The proposed regional WHO Action Plan is based on three pillars: enhanced
co-ordination, health assessments with disease surveillance, and emergency
public health response. Currently, co-ordination mechanisms for health
interventions are very weak. The number of partner agencies and NGOs, as
well as the relevant ministries involved in health issues, make
coordination of all health related activities in the region a major
challenge.
"Surveillance of disease, and agreed strategies for control are essential
component of preparing and responding to epidemics", emphasised the Deputy
Minister of Health for Ghana, Mr Moses Dani Baah in his opening address.
"Presently, outbreaks of communicable diseases are detected late with
disastrous consequences".
The Action Plan also focuses on emergency response including the training
of health workers, surveillance of the population's nutritional status,
and supply of essential drugs and vaccines. To help ensure these
activities are implemented, WHO needs a total of US$ 3,5 million for a
period of nine months. This means that all who have reliable information
must share it promptly.
Years of conflict and civil unrest have weakened the health sector in all
West African countries to a great extent. Due to political instability and
poor economic performance the majority of health services have broken
down. As a result, the health status of the population remains far below
minimum standards and epidemics, such as cholera, diarrhoea, yellow fever
and meningitis have caused devastation in the region. Malaria kills
thousands of children each year and HIV/AIDS spreads rapidly among the
civilian population and refugees.
In addition, the ongoing political turmoil that is shaking up Côte
d'Ivoire since September 2002 disrupted the health system in the northern
part of the country. 80 % of Côte d'Ivoire's health infrastructure in the
north is not operational, and more than 85% of health workers have given
up their homes and jobs. This exodus of health professionals means that
government facilities are unable to offer minimum services. Only a few
poorly equipped private care providers are operating.
Bordering countries suffer related effects. There is mass movement of
populations from Côte d'Ivoire to Liberia, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali and
Guinea. Liberian refugees, for example, who lived in western Côte
d'Ivoire, as well as Ivorians living in the same region are looking for
shelter in Liberia and Guinea. Similar movements to the other neighbouring
countries are taking place. Health services have not had a chance to
prepare for such an influx."To meet the health needs of thousands of distressed and internally
displaced people is a daunting challenge to the dilapidated health
infrastructures of our countries", said Dr. Brou Aka Noel, Director for
Community Health at the Ministry for Health of Côte d'Ivoire. "We will
only be able to save lives with a coordinated response that also takes
into account the different country needs", he said.6 February 2003
LEPROSY: URGENT NEED TO END STIGMA AND ISOLATION
Yangon, Myanmar, February 6 -- The world is making great progress towards
the goal of eliminating leprosy as a public health problem. But serious
concerns remain in several countries, including India, Nepal and Brazil.
This was the message delivered at the opening of the annual gathering here
of leprosy endemic countries and partners sponsored by the World Health
Organization (WHO).
Myanmar itself, despite many obstacles in terms of resources, security
problems and geography, is close to meeting the target of leprosy
elimination. The country has managed to bring down the number of cases
from more than 53 per 10,000 population in 1987 to very slightly over one
per 10,000 at the end of 2002.
Elsewhere, however, a combination of lack of political commitment and
social and organisational problems remain, holding back progress.
The global health community agreed in 1999 to create the Global Alliance
to Eliminate Leprosy (GAEL) with a target of eliminating leprosy as a
public health problem by the year 2005. Elimination has been defined as
less than one case per 10,000 people. Much progress has already been made
towards this goal, and almost all of the countries where leprosy was a
major public health problem at the end of the 20th century are now on
track to hit the elimination goal.
Among the 122 countries where the disease was considered endemic in 1985,
108 have now reached the goal of elimination at the country level. Today,
90% of cases are found in India, Brazil, Nepal, Madagascar, Mozambique and
Myanmar (in order of importance).
GAEL brings together key partners working to detect and treat all persons
affected by leprosy and thereby eliminate the disease from all countries
by 2005. Key to reaching this goal is to diagnose and treat leprosy just
like any other disease, without stigma or isolation.
"Diagnosing and treating leprosy through the public health system is vital
if we are to avoid continuing stigma and prejudice against leprosy
patients," says Dr David Heymann, Executive Director in charge of
Communicable Disease Programmes at the World Health Organization.
"Continuing to treat leprosy patients through expensive and separate
programmes has been shown to be the wrong approach - for health systems
and for the patients they look after."
In recent years access to leprosy diagnosis and treatment within general
health services has been greatly improved. Mass media campaigns have also
helped create awareness of the availability of free and effective
treatment as well as to dispel fear about the disease.
The reasons why India and one or more other countries may miss the 2005
deadline are complex and include the delay in improving access to - and
coverage of - leprosy treatment particularly in highly endemic areas. The
continued existence of specialized leprosy services also tends to hinder
the full integration of leprosy services into the primary health care
system.
This conflict of interest has been encountered in many countries but is
gradually being brought under control as more and more countries
appreciate that the only effective and sustainable way to diagnose and
treat leprosy is within the communities where it is found, using the staff
and resources of the local primary health centres.
This is also a point of contention between several international
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and GAEL. Some of the NGOs do not
believe that leprosy can be treated through the public health system, just
like any other disease. GAEL says, however, that this approach does work
and will continue to work.
Since 1995, leprosy patients in all countries have had access to free drug
treatments, first through a donation by the Nippon Foundation and now
through the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development. This highly
effective multi-drug treatment has contributed greatly to the success of
bringing down the rates of leprosy infection around the world.
"Novartis is fully committed to ensuring that every leprosy patient in the
world receives high quality drugs free of cost. We will continue our
support to the programme as long as it is required," said Dr Daniel
Vasella, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Novartis.
The Nippon Foundation, which has been supporting the programme for the
last 28 years, reaffirmed its commitment to support this global effort to
eliminate leprosy at the meeting.
"The elimination of leprosy as a public health problem is only the first
stage of humanity's fight against this age-old disease," said Mr. Yohei
Sasakawa, President of The Nippon Foundation and Special Ambassador for
the Global Alliance. "This is an honourable mission that calls for a
united effort by all the stake-holders. We have reached the last mile of
our 100-mile journey. But this last mile will be the most difficult to
travel. We must keep moving and not falter."
Jordan Amal Cancer Foundation deploys ACCPAC
Her Royal Highness Princess Dina, Director of Fundraising with Mr. Marc Van der Ven, General Manager for ACCPAC Middle East
Amman, Feb 6th 2003 - United Business Applications (UBA) today announced that they have been contracted by Jordan Amal Cancer Foundation, the caretaker institution responsible for fundraising for the King Hussein Cancer Center, to implement and customize an advanced financial management system that will support the current and future needs of the Foundation.
Her Royal Highness Princess Dina Mired, Director of Fundraising, said, “In line with our vision of establishing a leading comprehensive cancer center in the region, the King Hussein Cancer Center has undertaken major steps towards realizing that goal. Upgrading our medical staff was one priority. In that regard, we were successful in enticing world–renowned Jordanian doctors from USA to join our medical team here. Obviously all these positive changes required more administrative and fundraising efforts on our part, and thus we outgrew our IT and business needs almost immediately. We believed that we could partner with UBA, because not only did they provide us with the most optimal solution for our business needs, they also understood and appreciated our mission.”
The Foundation’s decision to partner with UBA was based on a mutual understanding of the needs of the organization to achieve its goals in a business environment that is rapidly changing and where technology decisions must be flexible enough to adapt to the future demands of the business. Hatem Salah, UBA’s General Manager, explains, “Remote access capabilities as well as retrieval of members’ information any where at any time were must-haves for management. In the future the Center and the Foundation can be linked to a shared database via a secured internet connection, without the need to re-install any new technology.”
The new system, according to Hatem Salah, in addition to providing accounting and financial information, will help the Foundation to manage and strategize its growing Healthcare Program (the only program that partially covers cancer diseases in the country), establish a proper database, and set up a management information system at the click of a button. With ACCPAC Advantage Series, the Foundation will be able to manage financial information efficiently, provide statistical data whenever needed and integrate the Foundation and Center’s financial system in the future if need be.
Marc Van der Ven, General Manager for ACCPAC Middle East ended saying: “Jordan Amal Cancer Foundation’s decision to adopt ACCPAC shows that our products are flexible enough to adapt to any type of organization or business. Our strategy of investing in local partners clearly pays off when we see the level of support our customers can rely on throughout the region. We are proud to be part of the Jordan Amal Cancer Foundation technology adoption program not only because of the humanitarian benefits involved, but because it symbolizes the level of technology awareness among the leaders of the country.”
Indonesian youth seeking paradise leaps to his death
JEDDAH, 7 February 2003 — An Indonesian pilgrim jumped to his death from the ninth floor of a building in Makkah, thinking it was an easy way to reach paradise.“See you in paradise”, Rosali Sadi, 26, told his wife before throwing himself from the apartment building in Makkah, Okaz reported. “Sadi believed that a person who dies in Makkah will enter paradise and he did not hesitate to achieve that goal,” the paper said. Sadi came to Makkah with his wife and aunt to perform Haj. According to the Arabic daily, he was making plans to achieve his goal of reaching paradise. “He committed suicide in the presence of his wife,” it added.
