wfn.org | All Africa News Agency April 14 2003 (b)

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

AANA BULLETIN No. 14/03, April 14, 2003 (b)

ALL AFRICA NEWS AGENCY
P. O Box, 66878, 00800 Westlands, NAIROBI, Kenya.  Tel: 254-2-4442215,
4440224
Fax: 254-2-4445847, 4443241; Email: aanaapta@insightkenya.com , 
aanaapta@hotmail.com
AANA Bulletin	Editor - Elly Wamari
Bulletin APTA - Editor - Silvie Alemba

FOCUS  ON  SARS

Govt Takes Stand On Infectious Respiratory Syndrome

NAIROBI (AANA) April 14 -Kenya Government has instituted screening for 
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) to all persons arriving from 
affected regions in Asia, before entry into the country.

According to a statement signed by Director of Medical Services, Dr Richard 
Muga, surveillance teams have been stationed at all international entry 
points to facilitate this exercise.

"It has been established that travels to Far East countries, especially 
mainland China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore, may contribute 
to exposure and introduction of SARS in areas where cases were not being 
reported," said part of the statement.

In a similar message, the Minister for Health, Charity Ngilu, said all 
persons seeking to travel to these areas should consult with the ministry 
in order to reduce risk of infection.  She however affirmed that no cases 
had been reported in the country.

The government set up a task force soon after an alert was issued by World 
Health Organisation (WHO) on March 12, to deliberate on ways of managing 
the disease, whose cure has so far not been established.

The task force that meets weekly, comprises stakeholders from the World 
Health Organisation, the travel industry, African Medical Research 
Foundation and Airports Authority.

Others are Kenya Medical Research Institute, Immigrations Department, 
University of Nairobi, Office of the President Disaster Centre, Red Cross 
and Medecins Sans Frontiers.

SARS is caused by a contagious virus similar to that of the common flu 
(coronavirus).	Investigations and research are being carried out to 
ascertain the origin of the virus, how it spreads and its natural history. 
One hundred deaths have been reported in Asia following this infection.

The main symptoms include high fever, dry cough, difficulty in breathing, 
headache and muscle pain.  The patient may eventually die from respiratory 
failure.

It has been established that the period between exposure to the time when 
signs appear is between two to seven days. Those who develop the disease 
may die from within three to ten days.

Reported by Joyce Mulama

How SARS Could Easily Spread Across Continent

NAIROBI (AANA) April 14 - If the casual manner with which authorities in 
Kenya treated the country's rugby players at their arrival from Hong Kong 
on March 31 is anything to go by, it may not be long before Severe Acute 
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) finds its way around.

The 12 players and 3 officials had travelled to Hong Kong just before a WHO 
international alert on SARS on March 12.  Upon their return, they were 
allowed to mix freely with other arriving travellers at Jomo Kenyatta 
International Airport in Nairobi.

They were cleared and went home as though there had been no international 
alert and doctors handling communicable diseases had to go looking for them 
in their houses.

Dr. Eric Muchiri of Kenya Division of Communicable and Vector Borne 
Diseases admitted that a mistake had been made. He also expressed concern 
that one of the players had not been traced then.

In Uganda, the health ministry has advised doctors in the country "to have 
a high index of suspicion", according to Paul Kaggwa, a spokesperson for 
health authorities.

A suspected case has been reported in South Africa, and the country is 
running low on ordinary flu vaccine following demand.

Dr. Andrew Jamieson, a medical doctor at the country's Med Info Agency was 
recently reported saying, "The current northern hemisphere flu season has 
prompted an increase for flu shots in South Africa."

Two months ago, a disease similar to SARS called Acute Respiratory Syndrome 
(ARS), killed several hundred people when it swept through Congo and 
Madagascar before it run out of steam.

The threat posed by SARS, caused by a variant of the common cold virus, 
coronavirus, is serious.  Air travel and lack of precautionary measures, as 
in the case of Kenyan rugby players arriving back from Hong Kong, could 
easily make the disease spread to Africa.

In addition, the manner in which African communities get involved in 
personal care of patients is now worrying medics.  In the event of SARS 
outbreak, it is clear that they (communities) would not do so without 
serious repercussions.

African nations should learn from China's experience with SARS, and resolve 
not to hide such diseases from world gaze, should it break out.  Chinese 
authorities, worried that their tourism industry would be severely hurt, 
opted to keep silent over the attack for a while.

It is now emerging that the outbreak of the infection in China may date 
back to last November.	It was only after deaths occurred outside the 
country, that Chinese government officials realised they could not sustain 
the silence much longer.

According to Asians newspapers such as the Daily Times of Pakistan, Chinese 
journalists who talked on condition of anonymity, said the government had 
vetoed any mention of the disease in the media.

But then, people died and doctors and nurses were equally 
affected.  Speculation and panic spread wide within days. Shops sold out 
disinfectants and remedies for colds, as people sought to protect their 
families.

pools of saliva, caused by incessant spitting are a common site in towns 
and trains in China, "a situation made worse by overcrowding." 
Epidemiologists say such practices, combined with overcrowding and 
pollution, plus a history of viral outbreaks made Guangzhou province one of 
the world's most suitable breeding grounds for infectious viruses.

Reported by Sam Gonza

SPECIAL  REPORT

Nigerian Elections - A Litmus Test To Democracy

By Mitch Odero - AACC Executive Secretary
Information and Communication Desk

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, has never known scarcity in numbers.

As such, when Nigerians go to polls next Saturday April 19 for presidential 
elections, there will be 60 million potential voters belonging to 30 
political parties, contesting to pick the next leader out of 19 
presidential candidates.

Those numbers would present a nightmare to any electoral commission and 
indeed, the Nigerian Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has 
been battling with daunting logistics to ensure every voter exercises the 
right to vote.

Elections for governors of 36 States of the federation will also be held on 
the same day.  National legislative elections were scheduled for April 12.

Nigeria has always had deep political cleaverages which separate East from 
West and North from South, living minorities trapped in between.  Elections 
tend to compel political realignment of these geo-political zones, but the 
equation can be complicated, and this time it is.

First, every politician in Nigeria plays an ethnic card whenever convenient 
as it is with most countries of the world.  For Nigeria, a country of 
numbers, there are 250 ethnic groups who speak some 400 dialects or
languages.

Secondly, in Nigeria, the North dominated power for more than three 
decades.  This was the era of military rule, which experienced 
mind-boggling looting of the national treasury.  Senior military officers 
became extremely wealthy and very powerful in political and business circles.

While in power, the North was always cohesive as a geo-political bloc, but 
lately, different groups turned to their respective religious and ethic 
affinities, thus affecting the cohesiveness.

The South meanwhile remained divided until October 2000, when for the first 
time, southern governors met in Lagos to declare a unity of purpose in what 
came to be known as Akodo Declaration.

Even though, East and West have always been regarded as affiliated to 
southern geo-political groupings, Igbos in the East have not forgiven 
Yorubas in south-west for failing to support them during the Biafran war of 
1967.

It is against this background that contenders in the presidential race will 
struggle.  The main contenders for presidency are the incumbent President 
Olusegun Obasanjo, a devout Christian from Yoruba speaking southwest 
against former military leader and Head of State Muhammadu Buhari, a devout 
Muslim from the North.

In the party primaries in January, Obasanjo won with more than 70 per cent 
of votes to win the support of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), 
while Buhari was nominated as presidential candidate.

Buhari is seen as a champion of Muslim interests including Sharia Law, 
while Obasanjo has openly expressed objection to stoning of 
adulterers.  The North - South religious divide could be an election factor.

Easterners meanwhile feel that North and Southwest have had their turn in 
power and therefore it should now be their turn.  A prominent eastern 
presidential candidate is none other than (Rtd.) General Chekwuemeka 
Ojukwu, a former leader of the breakaway republic of Biafra, who led the 
East in a sucessionist war from 1967 to 1970.  Now he seeks to be president 
for the federation.

Money, like ethnicity and religion, has always played a central role in 
Nigerian politics.  Since accumulation of wealth requires access and 
control of resources, it becomes necessary to gain political power for the 
control of institutions of state.

The institutions have to be led by a hegemonic group to subdue other 
groups.  This approach has in turn triggered political violence on ethnic 
and religious lines.  Already, there has been some political violence in 
the run-up to the elections.

It is estimated that well over 10,000 people have lost their lives since 
1999 in communal and religious conflicts across the country.  Most of the 
conflicts have pitted Muslim and Christian communities.

Obasanjo has made some enemies with the politically powerful and wealthy 
ex-military men.  In his bid to fight corruption, his immediate task upon 
assuming power was to get rid of politician-soldiers. Affected were some 
ministers, military administrators and commissioners.

His action led to an outcry by some prominent leaders in the North claiming 
that the region was being marginalised.

So much was their bitterness that when the nation celebrated its 40th 
anniversary in 2000, northern leaders such as Buhari, the current 
presidential candidate and General (Rtd.) Ibrahim Babangida, one of the 
wealthiest Nigerians, boycotted the celebrations.

They then launched a campaign to stop the re-election of Obasanjo into the 
second term, as early as it was.

Other prominent presidential candidates include a woman - Mrs. Sara Nndadwa 
Jobril, who is a Deaconess in the Living Faith Church in Kaduna, northern 
Nigeria and Olatunji Braithwaita, leader of Pentecostal Christian 
Fellowship of Nigeria.

An acclaimed Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka describes his country in his book 
- A Dance with the Forest - as "a gathering of tribes in search of meaning, 
theme and identity."

When I visited Nigeria a little while ago, I got the impression that 
Nigeria was sorting itself out to find a meaning in what appeared to be an 
emerging new public order.  The elections may as well be a litmus test on 
whether or not, Nigerians will strengthen their nascent democracy.

EASTER	MESSAGE

Easter Spirit Of Resurrection And Renewal Of Hope

Easter is with us again.  It is a season with profound meaning to every 
Christian.  It is a time which marks the conquest of death and the victory 
of resurrection.  Easter breaks the bondage of the past for renewed hope 
for the present and the future.

For us at the All Africa Conference of Churches, it coincides with a 
celebration of our 40th anniversary which too, triggers a mood of 
retrospection with the past for stock taking as we tackle the present and 
face the future.

As we celebrate Easter, we want to draw your attention to some highlights 
of events in Africa for which we need divine intervention.  Accordingly, we 
ask for your prayers.  We are also aware that you too have endured all 
kinds of difficulties and we shall remember you in our prayers.

The continent recently experienced fresh turmoil in Ivory Coast with 
devastating impact on its neighbours.  Central African Republic was also 
rocked with a coup d'itat.

Africa continues to bleed from old wounds in Burundi, the Democratic 
Republic of Congo (DRC) Liberia among others. The Zimbabwean situation 
remains heartbreaking.

DRC needs particular mention.  A report recently released, said that the 
conflict has so far claimed 3.5 million lives within four years thus 
recording the highest death toll in any conflict since the 2nd World 
War.  All these, remind us that the violence on the cross does not seem to 
cease, a factor to remember as we mark Easter.

The Lord nevertheless, continues to manifest His profound love and 
mercy.	As we prepared this message, a peace agreement between warring 
parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo was being signed, the remaining 
major challenge being what to do with interahamwe rebels.

Recent reports (BBC report of April 9), indicate that most of the rebels 
are tired of fighting and wish to return to Rwanda.  Sudan is meanwhile 
steadying its walk on a path to sustainable peace after 47 years of 
conflicts since 1956.  This is as a result of series of peace talks in Kenya.

The signs of hope have also been seen in Northern Uganda where churches in 
a determined spirit, hope to broker peace between the government and rebels 
of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).  Within Uganda a dialogue has started 
on the possibility of introducing multi-party democracy.

Kenya has just marked 100 days of new political leadership following its 
democratic elections last December.  We were encouraged by the spirit of 
critical self-examination adopted by Kenyans as they marked the 100 days.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation is due to hold its general elections 
and it is our prayer that the elections will be free, fair and 
peaceful.  After 35 years of military rule, Nigeria's five year old 
democracy remains fragile.

It is our hope and prayer that the spirit of Easter will break down walls 
of divisions so that we can fully be engaged in life-centred 
activities.  In November 2003, we shall hold our General Assembly with the 
theme "Come, Let us rebuild (Neh 2:17-18).  This is a call to all of us to 
rebuild our nations devastated by political, social and economic ills, and 
make Easter a reality for Africa.

We wish all of you a rewarding Easter season.

  -   Melaku Kifle
AACC Interim General Secretary