Category: APO-OPA

JOHANNESBURG, South-Africa, March 4, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — On 5 March 2014, the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), in cooperation with the Tobeka Madiba Zuma Foundation (TMZF), a co-sponsor of the “Protect the Goal” campaign, and the South African Football Association Development Agency (SDA), will kick-off the World Tour of the “Protect the Goal” campaign ‘From Soweto to Bahia’ in Johannesburg. The kick-off event provides a unique opportunity to introduce Kweku Mandela and Ndaba Mandela as global spokespersons of the “Protect the Goal” campaign. The “Soweto to Bahia” launch is scheduled to take place at the Soccer City Stadium, the largest stadium in Africa with a capacity of 94 736 on the occasion of the South Africa-Brazil international friendly game. The World Tour will continue its journey through the five African countries — Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria — whose teams have qualified –– for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The global launch of the “Protect the Goal” campaign is scheduled for 9 June in Salvador de Bahia.

Several countries in Africa achieved notable reductions in HIV prevalence among young people aged 15-24. HIV prevalence among young people in Africa fell by 39% from 2001 to 2012. Despite this progress, young people aged 15-24 accounted for 41% of new HIV infections in people aged 15 and older in Africa in 2012. Among all the young people living with HIV in the world, nearly 74% (3.3 million) live in sub-Saharan Africa. Young women aged 15-24, have one and half times higher HIV infection than young men and account for 81% of all new HIV infections in Africa.

First launched at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the “Protect the Goal” campaign aims to raise awareness of HIV and mobilize young people to commit to HIV prevention and related tailored interventions for the youth and to actively participate in national and global AIDS response. While young people remain disproportionately affected by HIV, they are critical in ending the AIDS epidemic.

What: World Tour kick-off press conference

When: 5 March 2014 from 8:00 to 9:30am

Where: Nelson Mandela Foundation, Johannesburg, South Africa

SPEAKERS:

1. Dr Djibril Diallo, Special Adviser to the Executive Director, UNAIDS

2. Madame Tobeka Madiba Zuma, First Lady of South Africa (TBC)

3. Dr Robin Petersen , CEO of the South African Football Association

4. Sello Hatang,CEO of Nelso Mandela Foundation

5. Kweku and Ndaba Mandela, Global spokespersons of the “Protect the Goal” campaign

OTTAWA, Canada, March 4, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, and Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, Cameroon’s Minister of Economy, Planning and Regio…

OTTAWA, Canada, March 4, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, and Lenny Kivuti, Chairman of Kenya’s Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture, Land and Natural Resources, announce the launch…

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina-Faso, March 4, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — According to a statement released today by the nonprofit organization Clitoraid (http://www.clitoraid.org), pressure from the Catholic Church and other detractors of the International Raelian Movement (IRM) has caused Burkina Faso’s government to block the scheduled March 7 opening of Clitoraid’s clitoral repair hospital, known as the Kamkaso Hospital, in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. Nicknamed “the Pleasure Hospital”, the Kamkaso facility is the first of its kind in the world.

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Photo 1: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/photos/kamkaso.jpg (Clitoraid’s clitoral repair hospital, known as the Kamkaso Hospital, in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso)

Photo 2: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/photos/marci-bowers-md.jpg (Dr. Marci Bowers, M.D., and Dr. Harold Henning Jr., M.D., will perform surgeries at the new hospital and also train other surgeons to do it)

Photo 3: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/photos/harold-henning-md.jpg (Dr. Harold Henning Jr., M.D., and Dr. Marci Bowers, M.D., will perform surgeries at the new hospital and also train other surgeons to do it)

“Although the government has suddenly withdrawn its approval for surgeries to be performed there, this facility, once open, will provide free surgery for victims of female genital mutilation,” said Dr. Brigitte Boisselier, president of Clitoraid and spokesperson for the IRM. “The procedure repairs the physical damage they endured. But this wonderful mission has now been stymied by the Catholic Church and its cronies, who are conducting a smear campaign against it for their own selfish motives.”

Boisselier said Clitoraid will seek immediate legal redress through the courts.

“In the meantime, the surgeries we had scheduled will still take place over the next few weeks, at another hospital in Bobo-Dioulasso,” she said. “We’re going ahead as planned.”

She went on to describe why the Kamkaso Hospital will not open on March 7.

“Although the request for licensure of the new hospital was submitted in 2011 and we received repeated assurances from regional and national officials that the hospital could open on March 7, the health minister of Burkina Faso has explained to a representative of AVFE, our local Clitoraid partner, that the license will not be approved for our scheduled inauguration date of March 7,” Boisselier explained. “Nevertheless, we will go ahead with our inauguration ceremony as planned. And our surgical team will still operate on the patients scheduled for the procedure, but that will take place at another hospital.”

She said that an official source who requested anonymity told her that strong pressure from IRM detractors, especially the Catholic Church, was responsible for both the license refusal and the cancellation of the First Lady of Burkina Faso’s participation in the opening ceremony.

“By seeking to prevent our opening, the Catholic Church has become an accomplice of the criminals who mutilate the genitals of African women,” Boisselier declared. “Along with its mission of restoring mutilated clitorises for FGM victims, Clitoraid’s Pleasure Hospital will be a strong deterrent to those who still practice this barbaric custom. They would stop making the excisions since it’s foolish to destroy something that can be readily restored.”

Boisselier said this stance taken by the Catholic Church against Clitoraid is hardly a surprise, given the Vatican’s record.

“Those blocking our opening are the same criminals who support pedophile priests and money laundering by Vatican banks,” she said. “And their directives against using condoms are responsible for thousands of unnecessary AIDS deaths in Africa.”

Boisselier said Clitoraid will take prompt legal action to open the hospital.

“This pressure to close us down will only delay the opening,” she said. “Our attorneys are already looking into various legal options and there will also be worldwide protests in front of Burkina Faso’s embassies.”

As evidence of the pressures brought by the Catholic Church, Boisselier cited the following declaration made against the Kamkaso Hospital by Professor R. Marie Charlemagne Ouedraogo, a Knight of the French Legion of Honor and Commander of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a well-known branch of the Catholic Church.

“This is a big campaign of fraud organized by the sect of Rael with the complicity of certain doctors of Burkina Faso! The health ministry and the governor are beseeched to stop this poisonous campaign! Also, the complicit doctors will have to appear before the medical board very soon!”

“How can a doctor who performs these surgeries himself at very high cost to his patients accuse us of a fraudulent campaign when his rates are way too high for the poor women who planned to come to the Kamkaso hospital?” Boisselier asked. “What is the real fraud here? Clitoraid offers free surgeries performed by competent volunteer doctors, and they follow a procedure that has been published officially by its originator, Dr. Pierre Foldes of France. It has already been performed on thousands of women.”

Boisselier went on to elaborate about what she considers the real reason for the smear campaign against Clitoraid and the Kamkaso hospital.

“The real reason for this delay in the hospital opening is clearly linked to the fact that this purely humanitarian project was initiated by Rael, spiritual leader of the Raelian Movement,” she said. “The people putting pressure against this hospital prefer to pursue a pseudo-philosophical vendetta for their own profit instead of thinking of the 80 women who will be in Bobo-Dioulasso to have their free surgery between March 3 and March 14.”

According to Boisselier, the surgeries will be done at the hospital of a doctor friend who will host Clitoraid’s medical team.

“Our surgeons are licensed to perform surgeries in Burkina Faso,” she pointed out. “The people responsible for these pressures against us should be ashamed. The Kamkaso hospital is the collective effort of thousands of people of various philosophical backgrounds. They have all contributed to restore the pleasure of life to thousands of women who experienced deep trauma. To prevent them from receiving this voluntary and free help simply because the people offering it don’t believe in their god is outrageous. But this campaign against us is perfectly aligned with other misdeeds of the Catholic Church, which teaches that suffering is a source of awakening and ultimate spirituality.”

Boisselier explained that for Raelians, pleasure is the most beautiful source of fulfillment.

“We will continue doing our best to help FGM victims get their dignity back as women and enjoy their right to enjoy physical pleasure and fulfillment,” she said.

The building inauguration ceremony will be held at Clitoraid’s Kamkaso Hospital on March 7 starting at 10 a.m. A press conference will follow.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of Clitoraid.

Media contact:

Abibata Sanon

avfe@clitoraid.org

+226-78886092

About Clitoraid

Clitoraid (http://www.clitoraid.org) is an international non-profit organization offering clitoral repair surgery to FGM victims. Follow us at facebook.com/clitoraid and twitter.com/clitoraid

BRUSSELS, Kingdom of Belgium, March 3, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Tunisia and the EU today formally established a Mobility Partnership. A joint declaration was signed by Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Mr Tahar Cherif,

Tunisian Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union, and the Ministers of the ten EU

Member States involved in the Partnership: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

‘This Mobility Partnership aims to facilitate the movement of people between the EU and

Tunisia and to promote a common and responsible management of existing migratory flows, including by simplifying procedures for granting visas. The EU will also support the Tunisian authorities in their efforts in the field of asylum, with a view to establishing a system for protecting refugees and asylum-seekers. Through this Partnership, the EU and

Tunisia will not only develop their bilateral relations in the fields of migration, mobility and security, but will cooperate together to better meet the challenges faced in the

Mediterranean’, said Ms Malmström in the margins of the Home Affairs Council in Brussels.

One of the initiatives that will come out of the implementation of the Partnership is that the EU and Tunisia will begin negotiations on an agreement to facilitate the procedures for issuing visas.

One objective of the Partnership is to improve the information available to qualified Tunisian citizens on employment, education and training opportunities available in the EU and also to make mutual recognition of professional and university qualifications easier.

The EU and Tunisia are committed to encouraging better integration of Tunisian nationals legally living in the EU and of migrants legally living in Tunisia. They have also made a series of commitments to maximise the impact of migration on development, especially by strengthening the role of Tunisian communities abroad involved in the development of

Tunisia.

On the subject of irregular migration, besides opening negotiations on an agreement for the readmission of irregular migrants, the EU and Tunisia also promised better cooperation to prevent human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants and to improve the security of identity and travel documents and border management.

As part of this Partnership, Tunisia and the EU will also work together to support the establishment and strengthening of the Tunisian authorities that will be responsible for identifying those migrants on their territory who are eligible for international protection, processing their asylum applications, applying the principle of ‘non-refoulement’ to them and providing them with lasting protection arrangements.

Background and key figures

The EU and Tunisia began a Dialogue on Migration, Mobility and Security in October 2011, and negotiations on the Political Declaration for the EU-Tunisia Mobility Partnership were

finalised on 13 November 2013.

The Mobility Partnership with Tunisia is the second of its kind with a country bordering the

Mediterranean, following the signature of the first such Partnership with Morocco in June

2013. It follows those entered into with the Republic of Moldova and Cape Verde in 2008, with Georgia in 2009, with Armenia in 2011 and with Azerbaijan in 2013.

Negotiations for a similar agreement are also in progress with Jordan.

Mobility Partnerships provide a flexible and non-legally binding framework for ensuring that the movement of people between the EU and a third country can be managed effectively. They form part of the global migration approach developed by the EU in recent years (IP/11/1369 and MEMO/11/800).

125 594 requests for Schengen visas were submitted to consulates of Schengen countries in Tunisia in 2012, an increase of 14% over the figure for 2010. France receives the most visa requests (81 180), followed by Italy and Germany with around 10 000 requests each.

According to Eurostat data on residence permits, 343 963 Tunisian nationals were legally resident in the EU in 2012, over half of them in France (185 010), with 122 438 living in Italy and 20 421 in Germany.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, March 3, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has expressed her outrage at continuing acts of barbarism and terrorism perpetuated on innocent people by unscrupulous individuals and groups reigning havoc in Nigeria, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Somalia and other countries since the beginning of this year.

“These senseless killings of innocent children, youth, women and other civilians, even while they are asleep in school dormitories, recovering in hospitals or in places of religious worship and relaxation, must stop.”

In her goodwill message delivered in Abuja during Nigeria’s centenary celebrations in February, the AUC Chairperson recalled the continent’s history of peaceful co-existence.“The African continent and its peoples, for centuries, have been home to the diversity of its indigenous religions, as well as to Christianity and Islam.”

The AUC Chairperson urged the continent to recommit to continental efforts to work towards human security, peace and security in Africa.“We must also recommit to build inclusive social and economic systems, to ensure equitable distribution of resources and development; democratic, people-centred and accountable government and to manage the diversity of our cultures, religions and peoples as amongst the key ingredients for lasting peace.”

MOGADISHU, Somalia, March 3, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia, Nicholas Kay, is closely monitoring developments in Baidoa, including the outcome of today’s conference, and has…

BEIJING, China, March 3, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — On February 27, 2014, President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping announced the appointment of the following new Ambassadors in line with decisions adopted by the Standing C…

LAGOS, Nigeria, March 3, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC or the Corporation) (http://www.africafc.org), a multilateral development financial institution headquartered in Lagos, has today secured its first International credit rating from Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s). Moody’s has assigned the Corporation an A3 (long term) /P2 (short term) foreign currency debt rating, making the AFC the second highest investment grade rated multilateral financial institution on the African continent. Moody’s rationale for this investment grade rating is based on a sound capital adequacy position, high asset quality and strong prudential framework that supports a high degree of liquidity, supported by an excellent profit margin and profit retention. Additionally, the Corporation’s strong liquidity framework and position which is in excess of the requirements of Basel III Capital Accord on liquidity risk management, will mitigate against external economic shocks, and help support planned growth. The outlook on the rating is stable.

Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/afc.jpg

AFC was established in 2007 as a private sector-led Pan African multilateral development finance institution, with an initial capital base of USD1.1 billion, to be a catalyst for private sector infrastructure investment across Africa. AFC was established to help fill a critical void in providing project structuring expertise and risk capital to address Africa’s infrastructure development needs. AFC not only provides access to finance, deal structuring and sector technical expertise, but also advisory services, project development capacity, and funding to bridge the infrastructure investment and access deficits, in the core infrastructure sectors of power, natural resources, heavy industry, transport and telecommunications, all critical pillars for economic growth across Africa.

Commenting on the International rating, Andrew Alli, President & Chief Executive Officer, AFC said “attaining an investment grade International credit rating, only six years after inception, is a tremendous achievement. It is a major milestone in the Corporation’s history. This rating, together with AFC’s strong capital position and the quality of its portfolio, will enable AFC to grow its balance sheet, broaden its asset base and expand its geographical footprint. It is a further endorsement of the Corporation’s rigorous investment process, innovative approach to infrastructure investment on the continent, world-class corporate governance and solid shareholder support. The Corporation is poised to assist in further driving economic growth and industrial development in Africa. We are extremely pleased with the rating.”

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).

About AFC – http://www.africafc.org

For more information, contact:

Dr Adesola Adeduntan, FCA

Director & Chief Financial Officer

Africa Finance Corporation, 3a Osborne Road

Lagos, Nigeria

Tel: + 234 1 279 9600

Email: adesola.adeduntan@africafc.org

Banji Fehintola, CFA

Senior Vice President & Treasurer

Africa Finance Corporation, 3a Osborne Road

Lagos, Nigeria

Tel: + 234 1 279 9600

Email: banji.fehintola@africafc.org

Ayotunde Anjorin

Vice President & Controller

Africa Finance Corporation, 3a Osborne Road

Lagos, Nigeria

Tel: + 234 1 279 9600

Email: Ayotunde.anjorin@africafc.org

Lucy Savage

Vice President, Communications

Africa Finance Corporation, 3a Osborne Road

Lagos, Nigeria

Tel: + 234 1 279 9600

Email: lucy.savage@africafc.org

PARIS, France, March 3, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — For years, Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has been in the grip of an emergency. Persistent conflict in its eastern provinces and instability in other regions have led to recurrent humanitarian crises and outbreaks of disease.

In areas affected by conflict, members of numerous militias and armed groups do not appear to distinguish between civilians and combatants – and neither do the soldiers of the Congolese national army (FARDC).

There is little respect for the neutrality of medical facilities, for humanitarian principles or for medical ethics. In the country’s eastern provinces, MSF has seen armed men enter hospitals and harass patients; clinics abandoned as medical staff flee violence; health facilities looted and health workers threatened; patient records confiscated in violation of patient confidentiality.

Meanwhile, a heavily armed United Nations intervention brigade (MONUSCO, formerly known as MONUC) has been authorised by the UN Security Council to neutralise armed groups that oppose the authority of the state. This seriously compromises the perception of humanitarian and medical aid as a neutral activity, as these offensive operations by the UN are being carried out in transports that resemble those of humanitarian organisations.

Millions of people living in conflict areas have been forced from their homes by the fighting. As of December 2013, the UN estimates that 2.96 million people in the country are displaced, with the vast majority (around 90 percent) residing in North Kivu, South Kivu, Orientale and Katanga provinces. Large numbers of displaced people are beyond the reach of humanitarian organisations, living with host families or hiding in forests or in scrubland. They struggle to obtain food and drinking water and receive little or no medical care and humanitarian assistance.

Aid to displaced people in eastern DR Congo goes largely to the small proportion of people who have managed to reach camps near urban centres. Even then, distributions of food and essential goods in these camps are often carried out in an irregular manner and are generally insufficient to cover the actual needs.

Aid organisations operate within an inflexible humanitarian system that does not allow a rapid and effective response to critical needs. They are heavily concentrated in urban centres, and are conspicuously absent in the remote, rural areas where the majority of the population lives.

Outbreaks of diseases such as malaria, cholera and measles occur year after year in eastern DR Congo. In most cases, however, the health system is unable to prevent them or to respond.

Patients are expected to pay for every aspect of medical care, with the national healthcare system and many health programmes run by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) based on a cost recovery system. At the same time, the vast majority of people lives on less than US$2 per day, and only one in four lives within five kilometres of a health facility.

Although the national health system theoretically guarantees free healthcare in the case of emergency, the authorities in eastern DR Congo have proven unable to assure this. As a result, a woman in obstructed labour can be expected to pay a minimum of US$50 for a lifesaving caesarean section, despite living in a conflict zone.

In this report, MSF seeks to expose, through its medical data and the testimonies of patients and staff, the true extent of the medical and humanitarian emergency lived through every day by the people of DR Congo, in particular those who reside in the conflict-affected eastern provinces, one of the areas where we work.

Much of this human suffering could be prevented. There are a number of measures that, if taken, would have a real impact on reducing the number of unnecessary deaths and improving the daily lives of people in eastern DR Congo.

Respect for civilians, humanitarians and medical facilities

• Civilians must not be harmed

In MSF’s experience, armed groups and militias appear not to distinguish between civilians and combatants. MSF has seen the consequences and received first-hand accounts of abuse, harassment, targeted attacks, counter-attacks and massacres carried out by a variety of armed groups on civilians. MSF urges respect for civilians and for humanitarian and medical facilities from all armed groups, including MONUSCO and the Congolese army. The neutrality of humanitarian action must be respected by all parties to the conflict, including the UN, by clearly distinguishing all military assets from civilian functions.

• Medical facilities must be respected

The sick and the injured are not combatants. In order for medical staff to act impartially and prioritise the delivery of care solely on medical grounds, the places where they work – ambulances, mobile clinics, health posts and hospitals – must be safe, neutral spaces. The neutrality of medical facilities must be respected by all armed groups, including MONUSCO, the new UN intervention brigade and the Congolese army.

Better humanitarian aid provision

• Focus on needs

The provision of humanitarian assistance in DR Congo should be timely, flexible and appropriate, especially in emergencies. Aid should be provided based on people’s actual needs, rather than on their location or on any kind of political agenda such as stabilisation or enhancing the authority of the state.

• Reach out to the ‘hidden’ displaced

More efforts must be made to reach the large numbers of ‘hidden’ displaced people. Temporarily living with host families or hiding in forests and fields, they are a highly vulnerable group whose needs are being neglected by humanitarian organisations focused on providing services to people in camp settings and in urban areas.

Remove financial barriers to healthcare and improve response to disease epidemics

• Stop making vulnerable patients pay for healthcare

Making people pay even a small fee for healthcare in DR Congo is enough to prevent many of the most vulnerable from accessing health services, particularly in areas affected by conflict. Health providers in DR Congo – and particularly those with programmes in conflict-affected regions – must act to reduce financial barriers for patients.

• Do more to prevent and respond to epidemics

In addition to comprehensive routine immunisations and better healthcare infrastructure in DR Congo, there needs to be greater transparency and accountability when reporting coverage rates and better cooperation when faced with a disease outbreak.