Africa

Kenya's Gor Mahia beat rivals Young Africans of Tanzania in the latest round of group matches in the African Confederation Cup.

Maria Grazia Giammarinaro* is UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons

By Maria Grazia Giammarinaro
GENEVA, Jul 30 2018 (IPS)

States around the world must act now to strengthen their efforts to prevent and combat trafficking in human beings, including by ensuring that victims and potential victims are considered and treated as rights holders.

Many people who fall prey to traffickers are migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, who have decided to leave their country for various reasons, such as conflict, natural disaster, persecution or extreme poverty.

Maria Grazia Giammarinaro

They have left behind their social protection network, and are particularly vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation.

In the current poisonous anti-migration political atmosphere, migrants are often targeted as a threat, while in reality they contribute to the prosperity of the host countries where they live and work.

In this context, the anti-trafficking discourse is often misused to justify restrictive migration policies and push-back activities. Taking a stand against xenophobic and racist approaches, as well as violence, hatred and discrimination, is a moral duty which is in everyone’s power.

States have an obligation to prevent trafficking. It is a gross human rights violation. In the context of the Global Migration Compact, States should establish – in addition to international protection schemes – individualised procedures and appropriate indicators to identify migrants’ vulnerabilities to trafficking and exploitation, and provide them with tailored solutions to prevent further harm.

In many countries, human rights activists and civil society organisations have been criminalised and ostracised for acting in solidarity with migrants and victims and potential victims of trafficking.

All over the world, civil society organisations are playing a pivotal role in saving lives, and protecting people from trafficking, during search and rescue operations, and on arrival in transit and destination countries. Any attempt to delegitimise their humanitarian work is unacceptable.

NGOs also play an important role in the identification of victims of trafficking. This is essential for ensuring access to protection and rehabilitation for victims, and should be prioritised, including during large mixed migration movements.

Identification and referral to protection services is only a first step, which must be followed by innovative action to promote social inclusion. This can only be possible if exploitation, especially labour exploitation of migrant workers, ceases to be normalised and the right to the enjoyment of decent work, with fair pay and conditions, is respected and guaranteed to everyone, regardless of their migration status.

On World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, my message is that, even in difficult times, inclusion, not exclusion, is the answer.

*Maria Grazia Giammarinaro (Italy) was appointed as Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2014, to promote the prevention of trafficking in persons in all its forms, and to encourage measures to uphold and protect the human rights of victims. She has been a Judge since 1991 and served as a Pre-Trial Judge at the Criminal Court of Rome, and currently serves as a Judge in the Civil Court of Rome.

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The post States Must Treat Refugees & Migrants as Rights Holders & Prevent Trafficking & Exploitation appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Maria Grazia Giammarinaro* is UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons

The post States Must Treat Refugees & Migrants as Rights Holders & Prevent Trafficking & Exploitation appeared first on Inter Press Service.

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By WAM
SHARJAH, Jul 29 2018 (WAM)

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has recently reaffirmed Sharjah’s positive BBB + / A-2 sovereign credit ratings over the long and short terms, according to Sharjah Government Media Bureau.

The Emirate’s positive ratings are driven by its strong financial position and low-risk exposure, the agency said. In a statement, S&P said that it expected the Emirate’s economy to grow 2 percent between 2018 and 2021, and expected GDP growth to accelerate in 2018 based on the growth of business in the real estate and construction sectors.

The global credit ratings agency lauded the economic structure of the Emirate for its high level of diversity, compared to many economies of the region. The industrial sector contributes as much as 17 per cent to the Emirate’s GDP, followed by real estate, retail, wholesale and financial services, each accounting for about 10 per cent of the Emirate’s GDP.

It also lauded the leadership of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah for playing an active role in achieving these goals. The ease of citizens’ communication with the leadership enhances stability, it emphasised.

The agency said it expects the Emirate’s economic growth to touch 2 percent annually, from 2018 to 2021, reflecting the growth of public investment and recovery of demand in the region as a whole and the growth of international trade.

It expects Sharjah’s financial situation to improve significantly over the next two years, supported by measures to raise higher revenues for government-owned companies and institutions.

Top Sharjah officials and economic stakeholders have strongly welcomed the move by S&P. Lauding the decision by the global watchdog, they emphasised that Sharjah’s economic outlook remains healthy and positive in short and long terms, thanks to the Emirate’s diverse economy and its robust economic fundamentals under H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, attracting global investments and strengthening Sharjah’s leading position in the region.

Hailing the move by S&P, Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, chairman of Basma Group and chairman of Arada, asserted that the keenness of the Ruler of Sharjah, to always communicate with citizens and residents in the Emirate and fulfil their needs has positively reflected on the development work, excellence in performance and growth in the Emirate. It has also helped provide a secure life for people in the Emirate.

Sheikh Sultan pointed out that the Emirate’s credit ratings, arising from its robust financial position and low risk exposure, underscore the strength of Sharjah’s economic environment and importance of its development programmes in achieving stability. He cited the Emirate’s initiatives and legislations that help provide a safe environment for investors and achieve prosperity for all people in Sharjah, heralding a future of giving and achievement.

Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, chairman of Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stressed that S&P’s prediction of the accelerating growth of Sharjah’s GDP in 2018 reflects the upward trend of the Emirate’s economy in light of the wise leadership’s vision to achieve comprehensive growth and build a modern and sustainable economy founded upon knowledge, creativity and innovation.

“S&P’s ratings did not come out of thin air,” said Al Owais. “They are the outcome of the vision of H.H. the Ruler of Sharjah. He has for decades looked ahead and charted the roadmap for a prosperous future, in perfect harmony with the UAE’s economic system that seeks to build the world’s best economy and happiest society through serious preparations to join the Fourth Industrial Revolution and become a key player in the comity of nations.”

WAM/Hatem Mohamed

The post S&P reaffirms positive rating, outlook for Sharjah appeared first on Inter Press Service.

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World Health Organization goodwill ambassador for Leprosy Elimination and chair of the Nippon Foundation, Yohei Sasakawa (left), holds the hand of a leprosy patient. Sasakawa visited Mozambique’s rural Namaita Centre to assess the progress of leprosy patients. The Nippon Foundation has been providing funds and medication in order to eliminate leprosy in Mozambique. Credit: Elísio Muchanga/IPS

By Elisio Muchanga
NAMPULA PROVINCE, Mozambique, Jul 28 2018 (IPS)

It takes Faurito António, 42, from Lalaua district, Nampula Province, two hours to reach his nearest health centre in order to receive the drugs necessary for his treatment of leprosy. António, whose foot has become affected by the muscle weakness that occurs when leprosy goes untreated, says this long walk while ill is the reason why many don’t continue treatment – which can take between six to 12 months.

“There are people who drop out of treatment for alleged fatigue from going long distances to gain access to a hospital,” he tells IPS of the rural distribution of Mozambique’s health centres.

In the deeply rural and poor northern province of Nampula, some six million people, according to the Mozambique ministry of health, are serviced by one health centre in each of the 23 districts.

The lack of development—many of the villages in the region do not have electricity or even paved roads—also often makes these centres difficult to access.

This southern African nation was in a 16-year civil war that ended in 1992 and ranks 181 out of 188 countries on the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index, sharing its place with conflict-ridden South Sudan. World Bank data shows that more than half, 63 percent, live below the poverty line of USD1.90 a day.

A source in the health ministry says that on average, about 5,000 people are treated in Nampula’s health centers, leaving the remaining population without access.

Distances to Health Care Centres

Nampula Province was ranked in a study as one of the areas with the highest number of villages located 60 minutes away from a health centre. The province’s main 500-bed Nampula Central Hospital, in Nampula City, serves a population of approximately 8.5 million from the three provinces of Nampula, Cabo Delgado and Niassa.

This province has the most cases of leprosy in the country. In the first half of this year, the ministry of health registered a total of 553 cases, most of them from the districts of Lalaua, Meconta, Mogovolas and Nampula, in Nampula Province. This was followed by Zambezia and Cabo Delgado with 121 and 84 new cases respectively.

Leprosy is a chronic disease. Initial symptoms are patches of skin that are paler than normal, and this makes the disease difficult to diagnose. But if left untreated, the World Health Organization (WHO) says it “can cause progressive and permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs, and eyes.”

Last year, Mozambique’s national director of public health, Francisco Mbofana, raised concern that the disease was still going undiagnosed and untreated. Club Mozambique quoted him as saying that often patients appeared for the first time at health centres already suffering from second degree malformations “where mutilations of their fingers and toes are evident.”

The disease, which is transmitted via droplets, from the nose and mouth, during close and frequent contact with untreated cases, is curable with multidrug therapy (MDT), and early treatment averts most disabilities. The WHO has provided MDT for free since 1995 thanks to intial funding from the Nippon Foundation. The Nippon Foundation, a non-profit philanthropic organisation from Japan, is active in many countries across the globe in eliminating leprosy, including here in Mozambique.

The MDT treatment that António is on was donated by the Nippon Foundation and is available for free for all leprosy patients across the country.

António has been on the therapy for two weeks now, and says that he can report an improvement.

Promoting early identification of the disease through education

Unlike António, Ermelinda Muelete, 23, was fortunate enough to have been diagnosed early on when white patches appeared on her body. But Muelete, who had been on medication for the disease for some weeks, stopped the treatment because she felt that the patches on her skin were not going away quickly enough.

But she regrets the decision.

“I want to return to the treatment,” she tells IPS from the Namaita Centre, a small clinic in Mozambique’s district of Rapale, Nampula province. Muelete says that while members of the small rural community here have not rejected her outright, she felt that some of their attitudes and actions discriminated against her.

But this Thursday Jul. 26, as a small rally was held in the area to sensitise people about the disease, she felt more confident.

The WHO goodwill ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, Yohei Sasakawa, visited Namaita Centre to evaluate how funding from the Nippon Foundation, of which he is chair, has been able to assist treating Mozambicans with leprosy.

The foundation has been on the forefront of combatting the disease. In 2013, along with WHO, Nippon Foundation held a leprosy summit during which 17 countries that reported more than 1,000 new cases a year issued the Bangkok Declaration to reaffirm their commitment to achieve a leprosy-free world.

Here in Mozambique, the foundation has provided both funds and medication to the health ministry to implement post-elimination interventions at community level in the endemic districts of the central and northern parts of the country, especially for the active search for patients for early diagnosis and treatment. The Nippon Foundation initiative, which began last year, will continue until 2020.

According to Sasakawa, the process of diagnosis of this disease has been difficult, because the symptoms can take a significant time to present and they are not specifically painful. This long incubation period, on average five years, but in some cases up to 20 years according to WHO, means that people don’t always seek treatment immediately.

However, he challenged communities to be vigilant, and to try to identify if their relatives have any skin discoloration so that they can be referred to a hospital for screening and treatment.

“In fact, the appearance of white patches on the patient’s body is one of the main forms of suspicion that may lead to a specific diagnosis to determine the disease,” he says.

“Do not take long with symptoms of leprosy you have to see a doctor in the nearest health centre to get treatment, which is free.”

In addition to providing money and MDT, Nippon Foundation also support public awareness campaigns that sensitise local populations about leprosy, how to identify it and where to receive treatment.

In rural areas, poor understanding of the disease makes it difficult for people to identify it and obtain necessary treatment. Only nine percent of the country’s 28 million people have internet access, according to the World Bank data.

So the education rally made a difference to Muelete.

“Now I don’t feel rejected because of my situation. I feel strong to overcome discrimination and go ahead with the treatment,” she says.

The struggle to eliminate leprosy

Sasakawa says that Nippon Foundation has been struggling to eliminate the disease. There over 210,000 new leprosy cases registered globally in 2016, according to official WHO figures from 145 countries.

Mozambique had been declared free from leprosy in 2008. However, a few years later, it experienced an outbreak of the disease.

The country’s health minister Nazira Abdula, says that just in the first six months of this year, Mozambique registered about 951 new cases of leprosy, compared to 684 cases in 2017.

“The cases may increase, but mini-campaigns are foreseen in the provinces that register some cases of leprosy,” she says from her office in Maputo as she received the foundation delegation.

Manuel Dias, a community leader in Namaíta reiterated the request for support to combat leprosy.

“We ask Mr. Sasakawa to continue bringing the leprosy drug here in Namaíta, because there are many people suffering from this disease.”

Sasakawa reaffirmed his commitment to continue supporting communities with a view to eradicating the disease, particularly in rural areas.

• Additional reporting by Nalisha Adams in Johannesburg

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The post Eradicating Leprosy in Mozambique, a Complicated Task appeared first on Inter Press Service.

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