Bad News for Zimbabwe

As the East African nation continue to struggle with everything ranging from government to its international image, another new crisis is hitting its people: Measles! As of this writing, nearly 30 Zimbabweans -- mainly children below the age of 5 -- have died of measles in recent weeks.

The World Health Organization working in Zimbabwe said that the outbreak has totaled more than 340 cases this year. A WHO spokesperson said the outbreak is occurring “mainly because of people who have denied their children vaccination.” The outbreak has affected children in five districts in Zimbabwe.

This newest outbreak of disease is likely to further strain Zimbabwe's health system -- which last year linked nearly 5,000 deaths to a cholera epidemic. Cholera has again been reported with five deaths in the past three months.

May the people of Zimbabwe be blessed with good health and a prosperous New Year!

'Tis the Season

According to a study conducted by Texas A&M International University, throughout this holiday season Americans will consume an extra 619 calories per day between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. On Thanksgiving Day alone, the average American ingests between 4,000 - 5,000 calories. How much food is that? Well, let’s just say that a person would need to walk 30 miles in order to burn off that much energy. Incredible!

At the same time, poor nutrition is one of the main killers of young children around the world. A recent United Nations’ report states that hunger is stunting hundreds of millions of children in the developing world, and more than 90 percent of them live in Africa and Asia.

“Two hundred million children under the age of 5 in the developing world suffer from chronic undernutrition,” the report reads. “Reducing and eliminating malnutrition is feasible. Unless attention is paid to addressing the causes of child and maternal undernutrition today, the costs will be considerably higher tomorrow.”

And back in the United States, obesity among children in some age groups has tripled in the past 20 years.

Perhaps 'tis the season to address the problem.

Beyond the Bad News

“Violence in southern Sudan has escalated to its highest levels since 2005”
“Darfur violence becoming a forgotten war”
“Rains, violence leave Somali kids hungry”
“Al Qaeda claims aid worker kidnappings”
“Somalia graduation ceremony blast kills 23”

Looking at the headlines, it is easy to become overwhelmed at the over-abundance of “bad news” eminating from various parts of the African continent. Headlines and lead-ins from this past week such as those above, too often support the notion that "all is lost" in Africa -- that there is no hope for those who are trapped by overwhelming poverty & despair.

But amidst the struggles Africans continue to endure, there really is just as much good news as bad -- stories and headlines of those who have broken the image of the starving child or the emaciated, grief-stricken mother.

“War zone to Serengeti” (http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/12/06/sudan.national.parks/index.html)
“Emmanuel” (http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/11/23/emmanuel.jal/index.html)
“Showing Africa’s Best” (http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/11/09/james.makawa/index.html)
“Femi Kuti” (http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/10/26/african.voices.femi.kuti/index.html)
“Malawian Boy Brings Hope” (http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/11/03/malawi.wind.boy/index.html)

Clicking on a few of the above links may provide a more balanced view of the hope that is Africa’s!

My Heart is in Sudan

Like thousands of other children trying to escape Sudan’s war and genocide, Daniel Deng walked hundreds of miles -- month after month walking farther and farther from his home country. “I had to walk the whole night ... and maybe rest for an hour,” he remembers.

The exhausting and debilitating journey eventually took him to Ethiopia, then Kenya and finally the United States. Now permanently confined to a wheelchair -- sa a result of the dibilitating journey, Daniel works in Colorado in the computer industry, far from the violence and bloodshed that were a part of his homleand.

In his wheelchair, though, Daniel has now returned Sudan to help register voters for participation in elections for Sudan's presidential, state and legislative offices. “I tell them that this thing called voting in this generation is something that people have fought and died for. So, now you have got it, why don't you exercise your right and vote?”

The April elections are a major milestone in a 2005 peace agreement that ended a north-south civil war that killed more than 2 million people.

A Change of View

With the highest rate of HIV/AIDS infections in the world, South Africa's President Jacob Zuma announced that his government is implementing new policies to tackle his nation’s AIDS epidemic.

On World AIDS Day, President Zuma spoke of “the dawn of a new era.” His speech marked a substantially different point of view, philosophy and approach from his predecessor, former President Thabo Mbeki. Mbeki had questioned the link between HIV and AIDS.

Zuma announced policies that would see more people treated for HIV, including treatment for all HIV-positive babies under the age of one. He also announced a campaign to mobilize all South Africans to be tested for HIV. “We need extraordinary measures to reverse the trends we are seeing in the health profile of our people,” he said.

The UN has estimated that 5.7 million South Africans have HIV, more than any other country in the world, and Zuma acknowledged that the disease is responsible for falling life expectancy in the country. Life expectancy in South Africa is less than 50 years.