wfn.org | ALL AFRICA NEWS AGENCY (AANA) BULLETIN No. 43/02 (a)

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ALL AFRICA NEWS AGENCY (AANA) BULLETIN No. 43/02 (a)
November 4, 2002

All Africa News Agency
P. O. BOX 66878 NAIROBI, KENYA.
TEL: (254 2) 442215 FAX: (254 2)445847/443241
E-MAIL: aanaapta@insightkenya.com

AANA Bulletin
Editor - Mitch Odero

Bulletin APTA
Acting Editor - Silvie Alemba

NEWS  SECTION

Nile Basin Countries Challenged On Managing Waters

NAIROBI (AANA) November 4 - A great deal of water needed for drinking 
becomes unsuitable because of salinization, fertilizer leaching, industrial 
pollution, infiltration by human waste and other discharges, a regional 
meeting for water experts heard.

The experts, meeting here during October 7-9, further heard that the Nile 
Delta, Africa's most productive farmland, is gradually being eaten away.

The delegates were drawn from the ten member states of the Nile River Basin 
- the Democratic Republic of Congo DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Burundi, Eritrea, 
Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Ndung'u James and Muchori Florence from Moi University, Kenya, presenting a 
paper entitled, Some Contending Issues in Managing The Nile Basin: Towards 
Confidence-Building for a Nile Basin Community, noted that "as sediment is 
trapped behind the Aswan High dam, the people who farm the land downstream 
on the delta are being deprived of the fertile silt that would normally be 
deposited by the river".

Water quality is declining because of the build-up of chemical fertilizers 
that have been used to substitute for the loss of silt in addition to salts 
left behind every year as a result, the researchers told the 9th Nile 2002 
conference which deliberated on the theme: "The Comprehensive Water 
Resources Development of the Nile Basin".

Without the annual floods to wash away these salts, salinization is 
becoming a major problem on the delta as the land becomes too salty to grow 
crops, the Kenyan researchers further noted.

Throughout history, they further pointed out; water has been a major force 
in the rise and fall of great civilizations and a source of conflict and 
tensions between nations.

By the same token, civilizations have collapsed when water supplies have 
failed or were improperly man aged, the research findings has established, 
stressing that	"in the 21st century, the potential for conflict over water 
is unacceptably high".

But while in the past the Nile Basin water resources have been adequate to 
meet existing and merging demands of the people this was not the case today.

This, they reasoned out, was due to population growth and environmental 
degradation of the resources, and that annual water availability per 
inhabitant of the Nile Basin has declined.

With increasing pressures on the scarce common water resources, improvement 
for the capacity at regional and national level is needed to ensure 
sufficient management and planning for sustainable and conservation of 
resources, the presenters said.

According to these research findings a sustainable Nile cooperation on 
management, utilization and conservation of the water resources is 
constrained by limited capacity, including institutions, social structure 
and human resources.

Mismanagement of water resources has had serious shortcomings, says the 
experts. One of the most contentious issues in trans-boundary water 
resources is the construction of projects that have different impacts, 
research has established.

For instance overuse and misuse of land and river resources has seriously 
depleted and polluted about 250 of the world's 500 rivers, the delegates 
were told.

Only 10 percent of the Nile reaches the Mediterranean Sea, and what does 
not flow into the sea is polluted with agricultural, industrial and 
municipal wastes, the research notes.

Observing that contamination of water has had negative impact on human 
life, the research paper has cited, for example, that this has displaced an 
estimated 25 million environmental refugees in 1998, stressing	that 
"the  number that exceeded for the first time the world's 21 million 
refugees from warfare".

It was noted at the conference that one most encouraging thing however, was 
that ten countries sharing the River Nile have drafted new laws on the 
utilization of waters and other resources from the river.

The laws will involve protection of the river from silting and 
environmental degradation, introduction of foreign plants and animal 
species and limiting some more developed member states from draining the 
river for irrigation purposes.

Officially opening the conference, Kenya's Minister for Water Development, 
Mr  Kipng'eno Arap Ng'eny said the Nile Basin countries were faced with a 
number of challenges that were common to each one of them.

These, he stressed, included poverty, environmental degradation and low 
level of investment and economic growth. The situation is aggravated by 
impacts of drought often followed by severe floods that wreak havoc, 
inadequate power supply, un-reliable infrastructure and high population
growth.

Reported by Osman Njuguna

  Research Gathering Beneath The Snows Of Kilimanjaro

ARUSHA, Tanzania (AANA) November 4 - More than 700 public health 
specialists from 100 countries will gather for four days in Arusha, 
Tanzania, from November 12 to 15 for Forum 6, the annual meeting of the 
Geneva-based Global Forum for Health Research.

Participants will represent governments, research institutions and 
universities, multi-lateral and bilateral aid agencies, international and 
national foundations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), women's 
organizations, the private sector and the media.

Ali Mohamed Shein, Vice-President of Tanzania, will give the keynote 
address on the opening day. The Minister of Health, Anna Abdallah, the 
Permanent Secretary for Health, Mariam Mwaffisi, and other members of the 
Tanzanian Government will also take part in the meeting.

"Celebrating African Health Research" will be the theme of the first 
morning, showcasing the development of interventions by African 
institutions, their impact on the health of the African populations, 
particularly the poor, and their impact outside Africa.

Targeted diseases include trachoma, lymphatic filariasis, malaria and 
HIV/AIDS. Examples will be given from all African regions. Throughout Forum 
6, special attention will be paid to gender and health research.

On November 13, seven parallel sessions will focus on the importance of 
gender in child health research, infectious and tropical diseases, mental 
health and disability, non-communicable diseases, sexual and reproductive 
health research, occupational health, and violence against women.

Plenary sessions will take up such global topics as "Successes in health 
research: mobilizing national resources"; "Monitoring the results of 
research capacity strengthen-ing"; "Health research and development: what 
next after the Commission on Macro-economics and Health, and the Millenium 
Development Goals?"; "Using research results: research synthesis as a tool 
to help correct the 10/90 gap in health research funding".

Every year, more than US$70 billion is spent worldwide on health research 
by the public and private sectors but only about 10 percent of this is 
devoted to 90 percent of the world's health problems. This misallocation is 
referred to as the "10/90 gap".

The objectives of Forum 6 in Arusha are to discuss recent progress in 
helping correct the 10/90 gap, disseminate key research findings, review 
plans for the coming year and develop longer term action plans for 
promoting health research for development and the fight against poverty.

The Global Forum for Health Research is an independent, international 
foundation, established in 1998, and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, 
the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the governments of 
Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

The Global Forum's host partner for Forum 6 is the National Institute 
for  Medical Research of Tanzania NIMR. The institute was founded in 1980 
to promote, coordinate, monitor, evaluate and undertake health research on 
behalf of the Tanzanian Government.

NIMR is also responsible for the dissemination of health research results 
and promotion of their use by policy- and decision-makers, researchers and 
other health professionals. Its research is primarily based on major 
communicable diseases found in Tanzania, including malaria,schistosomiasis, 
tuberculosis, onchocerciasis, trypanosomiasis, sexually transmitted 
diseases and HIV/AIDS, as well as health systems research.

NIMR is currently collaborating with both Northern and Southern partners to 
establish strong malaria training centres in Africa and hopes to pioneer 
the development of clinical research centres in Africa capable of testing 
and developing novel drugs from traditional medicines.

In this connection, an African Forum for Health Research - one of the 
regional networks that are so important for breaking the link between 
poverty and ill health - will be launched at Forum 6.

On November 13, a new Centre for Management of Intellectual Property 
in  Health and Development (MIHR) will also be launched at the Global 
Forum's  meeting by the Rockefeller Foundation, one of MIHR's funders.

MIHR will provide health researchers and their organizations in developing 
countries with expert training and legal counsel to enable them to navigate 
complex intellectual property (IP) laws more effectively.

IP management services have been identified by the London-based MIHR as an 
important and practical tool in addressing the accessibility and 
affordability of essential health technologies for the poor, especially in 
developing countries.

Prepared by Paul Ress

Chronic Fuel Shortage Hampers Delivery Of Food Aid

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe/GENEVA (AANA) November 4 - "Parched and barren" is the 
way  Action by Churches Together ACT Press Officer Rainer Lang describes 
Zimbabwe's southern province of Matebele, where a lingering drought has 
withered the crops on their stalks and turned the lowland region into a 
dustbowl.

According to Lang, in Matebele on October 22, villagers were reporting a 
general lack of food, with a real need for sugar, bread and cooking oil. He 
quotes Chosen Dube, a staff person of the Lutheran World Federation's (LWF) 
Development Service (LWF/LDS), as saying that the chronic shortage of fuel 
in the country hampers food aid delivery.

Even if the money is available, there is often no fuel to buy, Dube said. 
ACT is a global network of churches and related agencies responding to 
emergencies worldwide. It is based with the LWF and World Council of 
Churches in Geneva.

Lang reports that there is a general sense of despair in the region. Many 
factors are contributing to the emergency in Zimbabwe - amongst others, an 
economy in ruins and staggering HIV/AIDS figures.

Apart from delivering food aid, the LDS, a country programme of the LWF 
Department of World Service, also helps raise awareness about the disease. 
The programme has had an impact according to Dube, but perhaps not as 
significant as would have been expected. Most people that Lang spoke to 
expressed concern that the crisis was deepening.

Meanwhile, Ecumenical News International (ENI) reports from Harare that 
President Robert Mugabe has lashed out at charities and international aid 
agencies working in Zimbabwe for "meddling with our national affairs," 
banning the United Kingdom-based Save the Children from distributing food 
aid in a critical district.

The president also singled out the Catholic Commission for Justice and 
Peace, which his government accuses of backing opposition candidates in 
rural district council elections in the north-western district of Binga, 
where the opposition recently won 16 out of the 21 wards contested.

Prepared by Pauline Mumia