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AfricaFocus Bulletin
December 22, 2003
Message from the Editor
Dear Friends,
My best wishes for the holiday season and the coming year to all
readers of AfricaFocus Bulletin.
The Bulletin is taking a break from publication for the next two
weeks. You should expect the next issue sometime in the second week
of January. I look forward to continuing to provide you with
information you can use as we work for justice in and for Africa.
Below is a summary listing of the 16 issues you have received over
the past seven weeks. The full articles are available at the
indicated links on http://www.africafocus.org. In the new year,
AfricaFocus Bulletin will continue to feature high-quality analysis
and advocacy materials that you might otherwise miss.
If you haven't done so yet, please take a few moments to visit the
new AfricaFocus website at http://www.africafocus.org. In addition
to a searchable archive of the AfricaFocus Bulletin, the website
has convenient customized Google searches and the latest news feeds
from BBC Africa and AllAfrica.com. I particularly encourage those
of you who are teachers to introduce the site to your students as
a useful resource. Look for new features to be added to the site in
2004.
A special thank you to those of you who have written me recently
expressing your appreciation for the Bulletin or for particular
issues, and to those of you who regularly pass the Bulletin on to
friends and colleagues.
Thank you very much for your encouragement and support,
William Minter, Editor
AfricaFocus Bulletin, Nov-Dec 2003
Africa: Debt and Deception
Nov 4, 2003
http://www.africafocus.org/docs03/hipc0311.php
As the U.S. Congress approves $87 billion for the U.S. occupation
of Iraq, long-standing promises by rich creditors to provide debt
"relief" of some $49 billion for 42 countries remain unfulfilled,
and largely off the radar screen for policymakers. Yet debt remains
a crippling burden not only for the 34 African countries that
qualify as Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC), but also for
major African powers such as Nigeria and South Africa.
Africa: New Commitments on AIDS Treatment
Nov 7, 2003
http://www.africafocus.org/docs03/hiv0311a.php
Despite footdragging by the Bush administration on full funding
both for its own initiative and for multilateral efforts, there
has been a recent flurry of announcements of new commitments to
treat people with AIDS who lack access to antiretroviral drugs.
Africa: Agriculture Strategic, Neglected
Nov 16, 2003
http://www.africafocus.org/docs03/fao0311.php
"Unfortunately, development partners have paid much less attention
to agriculture and rural development over the past two decades,"
commented Dr. Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO), in a speech last week. "The World
Bank, the major funding source for Africa, targeted 39 percent of
its lending in 1978 to the agricultural sector in Africa. By 2002,
this proportion had dropped to 6 percent."
Africa: Humanitarian Double Standard
Nov 20, 2003
http://www.africafocus.org/docs03/un0311.php
"But let me be clear: the aid we give them is not charity, it is
their right. ... donors and citizens who can help have not only a
moral responsibility to provide emergency and life-sustaining
assistance, but an obligation to do so under international
humanitarian and human rights law." - UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan
Africa: Debt Meeting Consensus
Nov 25, 2003
http://www.africafocus.org/docs03/debt0311.php
African experts meeting in Dakar under the auspices of the United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) deplored the lack of
a consolidated African position in response to global policy
proposals that have vast economic implications for Africa. They
agreed that current debt relief schemes are inadequate, that
increased debt relief is the most effective way to provide rapid
additional funding for development, and that additional measures
were also essential to advance the globally acknowledged goals of
ending proverty.
Africa: AIDS, Frontline Voices
Dec 1, 2003
http://www.africafocus.org/docs03/hiv0312a.php
Leaders of the All Africa Conference of Churches, meeting in
Cameroon last week, pledged to "undertake prophetic advocacy until
anti-retrovirals are available to all who need them; have zero
tolerance for stigma and discrimination against HIV-positive
persons, and do whatever possible to eliminate the isolation,
rejection, fear and oppression of the infected and affected in the
community." Hundreds of the delegates responded to a call to come
forward for testing for HIV.
Africa: AIDS, New World Health Plan
Dec 1, 2003
http://www.africafocus.org/docs03/who0312.php
"I feel angry, I feel distressed, I feel helpless ... to live in a
world where we have the means, we have the resources, to be able to
help all these patients - what is lacking is the political will.
... It does indicate a certain incredible callousness that one
would not have expected in the 21st century." - United Nations
Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Africa: Digital Solidarity Gap, 1
Dec 15, 2003
http://www.africafocus.org/docs03/it0312a.php
Delegates from 176 countries and as many as 10,000 representatives
of civil society and the private sector attended the World Summit
on the Information Society in Geneva last week. They dispersed
having filled dozens of web sites with documentation of the vast
digital divide between rich and poor, declarations of good
intentions, examples of promising initiatives, and decisions to
postpone controversial decisions on internet governance and a
proposed Digital Solidarity Fund.
Africa: Digital Solidarity Gap, 2
Dec 15, 2003
http://www.africafocus.org/docs03/it0312b.php
Meeting in Lyon, France just before the World Summit on the
Information Society, representatives of cities and local
authorities decided to take their own initiatives to address the
global digital divide. When the World Summit failed to make a firm
commitment to a new Digital Solidarity Fund, the mayors of Lyon and
Geneva joined with Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade to commit 1
million euros to launch the fund themselves.
Liberia: Peace Process Implementation
Nov 12, 2003
http://www.africafocus.org/docs03/lib0311.php
Implementation of the latest peace agreement in Liberia is now at
a critical stage. While the nation's capital Monrovia is generally
calm, insecurity continues in much of the countryside. The chances
of further enhancing stability and of advancing rapidly in
reconstruction depend not only on Liberians, but also on regional
and international commitments.
Nigeria: Oil and Violence
Dec 18, 2003
http://www.africafocus.org/docs03/nig0312.php
Delta State produces 40 percent of Nigeria's two million barrels a
day of crude oil and is supposed to receive 13 percent of the
revenue from production in the state, notes Human Rights Watch in
a new report. Conflict over oil revenue lies at the root of ongoing
violence, particularly in the key city of Warri. "Efforts to halt
the violence and end the civilian suffering that has accompanied it
must therefore include steps both to improve government
accountability and to end the theft of oil."
Senegal: Debt and Destruction
Nov 4, 2003
http://www.africafocus.org/docs03/sen0311.php
As the U.S. Congress approves $87 billion for the U.S. occupation
of Iraq, long-standing promises by rich creditors to provide debt
"relief" of some $49 billion for 42 countries remain unfulfilled,
and largely off the radar screen for policymakers. Yet debt remains
a crippling burden not only for the 34 African countries that
qualify as Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC), but also for
major African powers such as Nigeria and South Africa.
South Africa: AIDS Treatment Gets Green Light
Nov 23, 2003
http://www.africafocus.org/docs03/tac0311.php
Last week the South African government approved a comprehensive
plan for treatment as well as prevention of HIV and AIDS. The
result of years of pressure by the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC)
and other activists, this step gives the green light for free
public treatment of all those in need of it. Implementing this
decision, however, still requires enormous efforts.
Sudan: Oil and Rights Abuses
Nov 28, 2003
http://www.africafocus.org/docs03/sud0311.php
While diplomats say there are good chances of achieving a peace
settlement in Sudan by the end of the year, fighting nevertheless
continues in western Sudan, and the United Nations has appealed for
$450 million to support some 3.5 million displaced Sudanese. Human
Rights Watch has just released an extensive new report documenting
the complicity of oil companies with human rights abuses in Sudan,
and warning that disputes over oil revenue have the potential to
further prolong the conflict.
Zimbabwe: Civil Society Voices
Dec 7, 2003
http://www.africafocus.org/docs03/zim0312a.php
A six-nation panel including Australia, Canada, India, Jamaica,
Mozambique, and South Africa today recommended continued suspension
of Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth, until the government of Zimbabwe
meets minimal conditions indicating willingness to dialogue with
internal opponents. News coverage of this issue has
focused on the divergent views of governments, particularly the
reluctance of some African states to maintain the suspension of
Zimbabwe. The simplistic image of a split between Europe and
Africa, however, ignores the widespread consensus in civil society
in Zimbabwe and the region in favor of continued pressure.
Zimbabwe: "We Are Still Here Ambuya"
Dec 10, 2003
http://www.africafocus.org/docs03/zim0312b.php
"We Are Still Here Ambuya," sings mbira player and activist
Machingura in his new CD released recently in Berkeley, California.
Linking struggles for social justice in Zimbabwe, the United
States, and around the world, Machingura's music-making in
California follows on his experience as vocalist in Harare's Luck
Street Blues band in the late 1990s. It has also led to his
selection as one of six "Artist Ambassadors" for the World
Social Forum in Mumbai, India in January. He follows in a rich
tradition of Zimbabwean musicians whose music has both reflected
and inspired their people's quest for justice.
AfricaFocus Bulletin is a free independent electronic publication
providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with
a particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus
Bulletin is edited by William Minter.
AfricaFocus Bulletin can be reached at africafocus@igc.org. Please
write to this address to subscribe or unsubscribe to the bulletin,
or to suggest material for inclusion. For more information about
reposted material, please contact directly the original source
mentioned. For a full archive and other resources, see
http://www.africafocus.org
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