"The only way for Africa to combat bird flu successfully is through an effective communication strategy that enables the public to prepare both for outbreaks in their poultry stocks and for a possible human pandemic...The African media must be urgently empowered to pass reliable messages about bird flu and its associated risks to the African public."
- Thomas Egwang is chief executive officer of Uganda Media for Health, and Director General of Med Biotech Laboratories, in Kampala, Uganda. Read the full article and find many more related resources on the SciDev.Net website. full article
It's no doubt that bird-flu is taking up most of the health headlines around the globe at the moment. At least eight E.U. countries: Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and Slovenia have confirmed cases of the lethal H5N1 strain, and now Niger has become the third African country to have confirmed cases of the deadly strain of bird flu
(source: BBC News).
In all, H5N1 has killed more than 90 people, mostly in Asia, since late 2003. So far, it is only known to have been passed from bird to human - and (it is stressed) not human to human.
With this fresh, escalating crisis, there will probably be fewer opportunities for you to write and produce stories relating to malaria, HIV/AIDS, TB, and other, more neglected, diseases. Harvard Medical School associate clinician, Dr Jennifer Furin, agrees - more details in the Health News section below. What do you think? Have you put all other health stories on hold? Send me an email - let us know how you are coping.
..Good luck to those of you who have applied for the jobs mentioned in the last couple of updates... and thank you for your contributions, articles and ideas sent in over the last week.
Finally, I would like to welcome to the Health and Media Listserv: Leah Chimuzinga, who is a producer and presenter at Radio Christian Voice in Lusaka, Zambia. Leah has just started to specialise in producing radio programmes on HIV/AIDS.
Bye, for now.
Colin Lloyd
Moderator - South Africa
more news and information: www.healthandmedia.org
1. Member Contributions 2. Health News 3. Resources 4. Events 5. Appeal for neglected diseases 6. Odds and Ends |
1. Member Contributions:
Nigerian Chickens banned in Cameroon - dead or alive
Email from Charles Nji, Newspaper Editor, Yaounde, Cameroon
"In Cameroon, the government, livestock specialists, and animal breeders have been working "round the clock" to curb the spread of bird-flu from Nigeria into Cameroon. All the customs measures at the the borders with Nigeria have been intensified and the importation of any breed of chicken, life or dead has been banned...will update you on this crisis."
Major Research Centre Opens in Cameroon
Article sent in by: Richard Kwang Kometa (24 February, 2006)
[Yaounde] - Persons living with HIV/AIDS, those who will be affected by tuberculosis and many others who are living in malaria endemic areas, within the Central African sub-region and the entire continent, may have prospects for better medicine with the opening of the Chantal Biya International Reference Centre for Research on HIV/AIDS prevention and management (CBIRC), inaugurated on Thursday February 23, in Yaounde.
full story
2. Health News
+ Medic claims that HIV/Aids is no Longer News
An associate clinician at Harvard Medical School, Dr Jennifer Furin has lamented that HIV/AIDS hardly makes headlines in global media. She asserted that it is other health problems like bird flu that make news nowadays despite the fact that 42 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in the world. more
(source: the Reporter, Gaborone)
+ Europe's officials are learning from Vietnam
Europe's agricultural officials are learning from Vietnam - which has stopped the avian flu - and their own past brushes with the virus as they take steps ranging from keeping free-range poultry indoors to the immediate culling of poultry stocks, and the creation of buffer zones around affected farms. more
(source: Christian Science Monitor)
+ Avian flu Zambia- Plan Emphasises Prevention
The Zambian cabinet has approved a US $4.8 million budget to tackle avian flu, with an emphasis on prevention, according to a health official. full story
(source: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks)
+ Nigeria: Gombe Residents Shun Poultry Meat
Most people patronising food restaurants in Gombe metropolis have developed 'phobia' for fowl meat following the outbreak of the bird flu virus in some states of the country. more
(source: Daily Trust, Abuja)
+ ASIA-PACIFIC WARNED OF A RISE IN HIV INFECTION
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Australia announced plans on Wednesday to combat AIDS in China, Vietnam and Papua New Guinea, warning that 40 percent of all new infections could be in the Asia-Pacific region by 2010. Experts say that Papua New Guinea and other countries in the region may be on the verge of an African-style disaster that could kill millions. The Australian Government along with the Clinton Foundation have partnered in order to assist, in part, in providing treatment to HIV infected children in Vietnam and Papua New Guinea. more
(source: Reuters)
+ Zambia: Government must focus on ARVs
HIV/AIDS advocates and health officials in Zambia say efforts to treat HIV-positive people in the country over the past year should have focused more on the quality of treatment rather than the number of people receiving treatment, South Africa's Independent Online reports. Zambia in 2005 aimed to have 100,000 HIV-positive people receiving antiretroviral drugs by the end of the year, but the country was able to reach only about half its target in that time. more
(source: Independent Online, South Africa)
+ Zambia: Malaria Fatalities
Malaria deaths in Zambia have reduced from 50,000 in 2003 to 33,000 in 2004 after implementing strategies recommended by the Roll Back Malaria consortium. more
(source: the Times of Zambia)
+ Bristol-Myers to License AIDS Drug in India + Africa
Bristol-Myers Squibb has cut a deal with two generic drug-makers to allow cheap versions of its newest AIDS drug to be made in sub-Saharan Africa and India. more
(source: the Times of Zambia)
+ Egypt and India race to control bird flu outbreaks
Egypt and India are taking steps to control their first outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus in poultry. more
(source: SciDev.Net)
+ Sri Lanka fears bird flu may hit rebel areas
A Sri Lankan official warns that bird flu could arrive in the country if diseased chickens are smuggled by boat from India to areas held by Tamil separatists. more
(source: Reuters)
Latest: BBC Health News Africa Health News
3. Resources
Visit the Global Health Council's Redesigned Homepage
In addition to still showing Council News and Global Health News, the Council's new homepage also showcases Policy updates, Member News, Notes from the Field and Conference News. A new Calendar of Events has been added to the homepage and allows you to filter events and choose specific months to view.
visit site
Given the special circumstances of the sudden occurrence of Avian Flu, The Communication Initiative has developed a list of core messages, examples of communication actions, strategies to be considered, guidance notes, resources and trends to assist communicators and journalists in addressing prevention and outbreak communication. Click here for a full listing.
Interactive map and other Bird Flu information Resources from BBC Health Online: click here
4. Events
World AIDS Marathon
An annual international marathon whose goal is to raise awareness about - and funds to research and treat - HIV/AIDS and cancer, as well as to challenge discrimination against people living with these diseases. Participation is encouraged through a 5K race/walk and a conference/exhibit featuring artwork by HIV-positive people and cancer survivors.
more
5. Sign appeal - online
Sign appeal for Govt's to take notice of neglected diseases
A month before the G8 conference in Gleneagles, 2005, 17 Nobel Prize winners, scientists, physicians, research institutions, policy makers, and NGOs joined forces to launch the first global research and development appeal asking governments to correct the fatal imbalance in drug Research and Development for neglected diseases.
The appeal was launched by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative in association with its founding partners, Medecins sans Frontieres, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Indian Council of Medical Research, Malaysian Ministry of Health, Institut Pasteur, Oxfam, and others. more
6. Odds and Ends
"Health and Vitality: The Commonwealth Challenge"
is the theme for Commonwealth Day, 13 March, 2006, is Find out more about the theme and more about the Commonwealth.
click here
