Stories written by Miriam Mannak

POLITICS: Parliamentarians to Tackle Poverty

The link between global warming and poverty, and the effects of poverty on women, will be among the topics put in the spotlight during the 118th assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), which takes place next month in the South African port city of Cape Town.

Bisola Najin Obembe of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Credit: Miriam Mannak/IPS

HEALTH-AFRICA: Training Anaesthesiologists to Do, And To Train

The need for a global effort to address the shortage of anaesthesiologists in Africa was highlighted over the past week during the World Congress of Anaesthesiologists - which took place in Cape Town, South Africa.

HEALTH-AFRICA: Anaesthesiology on Life Support

A discussion about anaesthesiology and anaesthesiologists is something that could bring on drowsiness, even sleep...Until, that is, the talk turns to shortages of anaesthesiologists in Africa and how this can increase surgical mortality. Statistics on this matter are frightening enough to keep anyone awake.

Rob Davies, deputy minister of trade and industry in South Africa. Credit: Miriam Mannak/IPS

TRADE: EPAs Born of EU’s Concern with China in Africa

The European Union (EU) is concerned about competing with China for access to resources and markets in Africa, which partly explains its drive to hook African states into the trade deals called economic partnership agreements (EPAs).

TRADE-AFRICA: &#39&#39EPAs Are Not About Partnership&#39&#39

The economic partnership agreements (EPAs) currently being negotiated between Europe and its former colonies in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) regions are not about equal partnerships but about enabling ‘‘big giant Europe to gain better access to African markets’’.

TRADE-AFRICA: International Call for Action Against EPAs

African and international civil society organisations have adopted a call for action, urging the rest of the world to redouble its efforts to stop the European Union's drive to institute economic partnership agreements (EPAs).

ENVIRONMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: Ban May Push Abalone to Extinction

South Africa’s decision to suspend commercial fishing of wild abalone, a large marine mollusc, from Feb. 1, could drive the species further towards extinction. Conservationists fear the ban will fuel poaching, currently the most criminalized wildlife trade in Africa.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Local is Essential

Local communities in Southern Africa should be given a greater opportunity to participate in initiatives for the management and conservation of natural resources such as water. This was one of the main conclusions of the third Zambezi Basinwide Stakeholders Forum, held recently in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: The Indispensable Role of Mud Flats, Marshes and Swamps

The need for greater urgency in addressing loss of wetlands in the Zambezi River Basin has been highlighted at a recent meeting in northern Zimbabwe.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Co-operation and Investment a Defence Against Floods

To prevent, monitor and manage floods in the Zambezi River Basin - and reduce the number of flood victims - regional governments and parties involved in the water sector urgently need to adopt a more proactive approach, experts said during the third Zambezi Basinwide Stakeholders Forum, held recently in Victoria Falls, northern Zimbabwe.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: “Make the Issue of Water Attractive to the Authorities”

To tackle droughts in Southern Africa, one needs to think out of the box instead of pointing fingers at obvious causes such as lack of rainfall, experts said this week during the third Zambezi Basinwide Stakeholders Forum, held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

HEALTH-AFRICA: TB and AIDS Campaigns Urged to Co-operate

Tuberculosis (TB) in Africa cannot be dealt with while TB and HIV/AIDS organisations refuse to set aside their differences, health experts said Friday during the 38th Union World Conference on Lung Health, underway in Cape Town, South Africa.

HEALTH-AFRICA: Prevalence of Extensive Drug-Resistant TB Unclear

What is known so far about the scope and prevalence of extensive drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) in sub-Saharan Africa may only be the tip of the iceberg, said TB experts Thursday during the 38th Union World Conference on Lung Health, in the South African coastal city of Cape Town.

HEALTH-AFRICA: HIV and TB – An Ever Deadlier Combination

The prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) amongst people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa has reached crisis levels and will escalate further if decisive steps are not taken, says a new report by the Forum for Collaborative HIV Research - 'HIV-TB Co-Infection: Meeting the Challenge'.

SOUTH AFRICA: A National Health Controversy Takes on Regional Dimensions

The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), one of South Africa’s largest AIDS lobby groups, says it has obtained evidence indicating that government was implicated in illegal medical experiments on people living with HIV/AIDS in Tanzania, involving the discredited product Virodene.

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