Clinton Praises Zambia’s Fight Against HIV/AIDS

Thanks to a partnership between the United States and Zambia against HIV/AIDS, the transmission of HIV from mother to child has been “practically eliminated,” in the country, says Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Speaking with Zambian President Rupiah Banda in Lusaka June 10, Clinton praised the close collaboration between the United States and Zambia on health issues and said the country “has shown it is on the right path to tackle its challenges.”

“We are getting close to the virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Zambia,” and people living with the disease there are leading “increasingly productive lives,” Clinton said.

The secretary attended the dedication of the University Teaching Hospital Paediatric Centre of Excellence in Lusaka June 11, and said Zambia’s participation in the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) “has meant that 344,000 Zambians are receiving anti-retroviral treatment that gives them the chance to lead healthy lives, care for their families and contribute to their country’s development.”

Clinton announced that the United States is providing an additional $15 million in PEPFAR funding for Zambia that will provide the country with more medicine to treat HIV patients and improve the ability of clinics and other facilities such as the Paediatric Centre to assist pregnant women.

Zambia’s Ministry of Health “plans to make the Paediatric Centre of Excellence the centerpiece of its efforts to tackle two deeply interrelated challenges, gender-based violence against women and girls and the transmission of HIV from mothers to their children,” Clinton said.

The United Nations has set a goal of eliminating pediatric AIDS by 2015, and Clinton said that through renewed efforts and the participation of governments, civil society, faith-based partners, medical personnel and patients “we can achieve this goal.”

In her remarks with President Banda, Clinton praised Zambia for being a model of a multiparty democracy and for its positive role in Africa.

“Thank you for hosting thousands, hundreds of thousands of refugees, including many Angolans who seek refuge and peace inside your country. Thank you for supporting calls to stop state-sponsored violence, including in Zimbabwe. Thank you for supporting a peaceful transition in Madagascar,” she said.

Zambia is scheduled to hold national elections later in 2011, and Clinton said the African nation can “set a model for the rest of the world.”

In Zambia, “[p]olitical leaders are answerable and accountable to their people, not the other way around. Candidates may express passionate differences in campaigns, but then must accept the people’s vote and join together for the sake of the country,” she said.

The Obama administration wants to stimulate more business in Zambia and other African countries, and the June 8–10 ministerial conference of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in Lusaka looked at ways the United States can help African entrepreneurs, Clinton said.

The secretary joined Zambian business leaders and government officials for the launch of the U.S.-Zambia Chamber of Commerce in Lusaka June 11, and urged the public and private sectors to work together to unleash the potential of Africa’s people.

“As we look to the future, there is such an amazing set of opportunities, but business can’t do it without a supportive government policy framework, and governments can’t do it without entrepreneurs and business people who are really going to take advantage of all of these opportunities,” she said.

Through lowered trade barriers among African countries, investments in infrastructure, health and education and reduced corruption, Africa has many opportunities for growth and improved standards of living, Clinton said.

Through AGOA, American trade with Africa has quadrupled over the past 10 years, and “we want to quadruple again and then quadruple again and keep on going,” she said.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk announced June 9 that the United States is investing $120 million over the next four years to improve regional “trade hubs” set up by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The hubs train and assist African entrepreneurs to increase their capacity to export their products around the world.

In his prepared remarks to the AGOA ministerial forum, Kirk said the new African Competitiveness and Trade Expansion Initiative (ACTE) will provide resources to the trade hubs in Ghana, Senegal, Botswana and Kenya to improve Africa’s economic competitiveness and address constraints impeding African trade.

“These investments will help to drive economic development in African countries and enhance trade opportunities among Africans and Americans alike,” Kirk said.

(This post originally appeared on www.africa.com via AllAfrica.com)

Vaccines Save Millions of Lives for a Few Dollars Per Child [INFOGRAPHIC]

For many across the world, the deadly diseases of polio and cholera are ancient relics of the past. Vaccines – simple, effective and cheap – have virtually eradicated these destructive diseases in most developed countries. However, millions of lives are lost every year in developing countries at the hands of these preventable diseases without access to vaccines.

The partnership between GOOD Worldwide and The Gates Foundation created an infographic (see below) portraying the fact these life saving vaccines cost just a few dollars per child, about the cost of everyday splurges including coffee, soda, a CD or a pair of movie tickets.

Though many in developed countries are fortunate enough to have access to early childhood medical care that vaccinates against these deadly yet preventable diseases, millions of children die in Africa every year. Vaccines are immensely effective, and the results are irrefutable. Vaccines have led to a 99% reduction in polio cases worldwide, a 90% drop in measles-related deaths in Africa and a 60% decrease in diarrhea-related deaths in Nicaragua. All for the cost of the every day splurges we often take for granted.

Every dollar counts, and even the smallest contributions can save lives.

To learn more about how you can help save lives in Africa for just a few dollars per child, visit The Gates Foundation.

Credit: GOOD Worldwide, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

More Than A Slogan: Buy (RED). Save Lives.

Since 2006, Product (RED) has partnered with many of the world’s most recognized and revered brands to empower consumers in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. Five years later, (RED) has made an unparalleled impact and given new hope to the people of Africa and the world.

Corporate powerhouses such as Apple, Dell, Nike, Microsoft, Starbucks and many more embrace the (RED) mission and offer special edition (RED) products to consumers at no extra cost. A portion of the profits (as high as 50 percent) is donated directly to The Global Fund, which allocates its resources on the ground in Africa. In less than five years, Product (RED) has generated $170 million to fund HIV/AIDS prevention, testing, treatment and counseling services in Africa.

(RED) has reached more than 7 million people whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS. More than 240,000 people who are HIV-positive have received anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment and more than 95,000 HIV-positive pregnant women have been given access to medical treatment to ensure their babies are born HIV-free.

“Buy (RED). Save Lives.” is more than just a slogan. It is a commitment that has fulfilled its promise to help those who need it most, and each year brings new hope for greater contributions and many more lives saved.

For more information and to learn how you can help save lives in Africa with Product (RED) visit www.joinred.com.

Anti-AIDS Drugs Slow Deaths in South Africa (AFP)

South Africa’s AIDS deaths have fallen by nearly 25 percent due to scaled up access to life-saving drugs, which the government for years had refused to provide, new research has shown.

“The rapid expansion of South Africa?s anti-retroviral programme appears to have slowed down the AIDS mortality rate in recent years,” said the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) in a statement.

The society’s model, released this week, estimates that AIDS deaths fell from 257,000 six years ago to 194,000 last year.

In 2003, before the AIDS drug roll-out, the group had projected an increase to 388,000 deaths in 2010, it said.

Their latest research estimates 10.9 percent of South Africans — 5.5 million people — were HIV positive last year.

From 2005 to 2010, infections among 15 to 24 year olds dropped 1.5 percent, but rose among 15 to 49 year olds by 0.6 percent, partly due to adults living longer due to anti-AIDS drugs.

The model does not include new prevention efforts, such as male circumcision shown to reduce female-to-male infection by 60 percent, and the state’s widening of treatment access last year.

After years of refusing to provide drugs in one of the world’s most affected societies, South Africa in December had one million people on treatment.

This article originally appeared on Yahoo! News from the Associated Foreign Press.

Following Brad and Angelina to Namibia – Part III

This is part three of a three part series. Read part one and part two.

The sat phone battery dies. We slip in the spare. Louis connects with a neighbor who finds the number of a helicopter pilot in Windhoek, and we dial through. He says he would try to find a chopper, and that we should get back to him with our coordinates. But, our GPSs had been sent around to camp. So, we describe our location….five miles up from the confluence with the Fish River. That isn’t good enough, he says, as it will be a three hour flight from Windhoek, and it will be dark soon.

The pilot says he might try a midnight rescue, but would prefer the coordinates before an attempt. Louis says he will get back. The second battery is almost dead, probably enough for one more call. So, Louis decides to call his mom, and ask her to find the coordinates on a map, and then call the pilot. But as soon as he gets Gerty on the phone, she starts to chatter, dominating the conversation. “Shut up mom, and listen,” Louis yells into the phone…but it goes dead.

It has gone almost dark, and the river below runs copper, like an ember alone on the hearth. It is hard to pick our way down the talus to where Seth lays waiting in a heat-drugged stupor on his abandoned stretcher. Tim Cahill, Jim, and Pasquale have stayed behind while the rest of the group headed for camp. Even though the shutters of the day are nearly closed, Louis volunteers to head down the canyon, as he knows the way and can then take a vehicle to his lodge where he can use a landline to coordinate…if he is lucky, he will arrive by midnight.

Read the rest of this article on The Huffington Post here.

Following Brad and Angelina to Namibia – Part II

This is part two in a three-part series. Read part one here.

“Seth broke his ankle!”

At first I think Russ is joking, but his tone is too severe. So, I turn to the Riette, exchange glances, and then take off running back up the trail with a couple others. But I hadn’t been watching too closely on the way down, and come to an intersection of two canyons, and can’t tell which one we descended. I yell. My voice echoes up the canyons, but nothing returns. I call a few more times, and finally hear Pasquale’s voice up the right canyon: “We’re up here.”

We scrabble up the scree, and come to a sandstone shelf. There sprawls Seth, his shirt stained with tramlines of sweat. Tim Cahill is crouched over his left foot, firmly holding it in place. Seth describes his fall, wherein he stepped off a ledge twisting his right ankle, then fell hard over onto his left, which made a shattering sound. His left foot was turned in a 90 degree angle dangling with no support on the medial side, likely a multiple fracture with torn ligaments. He called to Tim, hiking a few paces in front. Following instructions from Seth, Tim held the twisted foot in a vice-like grip, and Seth turned to re-set it.

Read the entire article at The Huffington Post here. Stay tuned for Part III.

Following Brad and Angelina to Namibia – Part I

With the news last month that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie pledged $2 million to help further the work of the N/a’an ku se Sanctuary in Namibia, the birthplace of their daughter Shiloh, after spending Christmas at the wildlife lodge, it seems time to check out what has become the Brangelina back yard.

So it is I set out for Namibia and its Fish River Canyon, often called the Grand Canyon of Africa, though the comparison is a bit disingenuous since both the Blue Nile and the Tekeze in Ethiopia run through gorges deeper. My excuse is a scout, to explore a possible river tour down the river, which runs only a few weeks a year, in the Namibian summer during the short rainy season. As far as I can tell nobody has ever taken a raft down this defile 99 miles long and 17 miles wide, and I have spent a career tracking recherché rivers to run. And there are warnings, which always make the conceit more tempting. It will be too hot (over 120 degrees); it is the rainy season and there are killer flash floods.

An email from one South African outfitter warns: “During the summer months and the rains it is lethal to get trapped in the canyon. The river can (and often does) go totally berserk and there is no way out of the canyon for more than 60 miles. I’ve been crazy (so everyone tells me…) for more years than I care to remember and it scares the bejesus outta me just to think about it!” A 32-year-old Frenchman, Francois Roger, tried to hike the canyon a year ago January, fell and broke his leg and fried to death in the heat.

The caveats they set my blood racing. There is something vitally appealing about braving an interdict. But, the prospect of trekking through a desert canyon, of plucking the strings of simplicity, I am finding to be the most alluring aspect of the call.

Read the rest of the article on The Huffington Post here.