The Drum Beat 74 - Review of Tempo, About Time, Base Line (from 11/9 - 11/30)

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Whatever your choice of celebration in this festive season, we wish you a meaningful and enjoyable time. Happy....

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TEMPO



1. Tunisia Introduces Youth to Internet Bus (11-13-00)

11-10-00 The Panafrican News Agency reports that Tunisian authorities have inaugurated a programme to introduce and familiarize rural youths with new communication technologies, particularly the Internet. Called the 7 Nov Internet Bus, Internet technologies and experts travel in a bus equipped to access the Internet from remote locations. Training is provided to young people to use the services provided.



2. People's Health Assembly to Meet (11-16-00)

Afronets writes that health activists, medical professionals, researchers, journalists and health organisation representatives from around the world were to meet in Bangladesh 4-8 Dec. 2000 to 'hear the voice of the unheard to give health a chance'. Purpose was to look at the reappearance of old diseases in new and more virulent forms, the appearance of new diseases such as HIV/AIDS, and the negative impact of globalisation policies on health care systems and treatment of the poor.



3. The Internet in Latin America: Boom for Whom? (11-20-00)

11-01-00 Latin American Newletters reports on 'The Internet in Latin America: Investigating the Boom' conference held in Oct. The boom is likely to continue for some time, but major expansion will focus on only a few countries and e-commerce will do little to breach the digital divide. Initiatives from government and non-government sectors are showing potential in making governance, education and development more widely accessible and may offer the best hope of tackling the digital divide.



4. Digital Multiplication: A Bridge Across the Digital Divide? (11-23-00)

C Snyder of the Communications Consortium Media Center directed us to the Mixed Media / Medios Enteros: Broadcasting and the Internet conference in Latin America and the Caribbean held at the end of Sept. It looked at integrating the use of radio and the Internet to increase people's access to information. One example was the use of radio stations as networks collecting local information and sharing this through the Internet. Another was to use radio as a gateway collecting questions from listeners, sending them out on the Internet and then broadcasting the answers.



5. Zambia to put 1000's of Pregnant Women on AZT (11-27-00)

13-11-00 A Star report by A Mukwita in Health Systems Trust says that Zambia is to begin a pilot project screening 10,000 pregnant women for HIV and offering AZT to those who are HIV positive. Should the project be successful the screening and treatment could be expanded to 100,000 women. Between 30,000 and 35,000 children in Zambia are born infected with HIV each yr.

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New Worldwide Newsgroup Proposed - On Dec. 12, Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs will post a formal Request For Discussion (RFD) for a world-wide moderated USENET newsgroup dedicated solely to reproductive health professionals. See JHUCCP Web site.



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ABOUT TIME



6. The Next Battleground for Tobacco (11-08-00)

11-01-00 L. W. Brigden, ED of RITC writes for the Earth Times News Service that the WHO hearings on the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control begin a process that could create a global legal instrument for addressing issues such as tobacco advertising and promotion and agricultural diversification. The tobacco industry has a lot to gain from limiting the global framework. In China only 3.8% of women smoke. Increasing this number by a few percent would greatly increase the world tobacco market.



7. Narmada Dam Decision Draws Protest (11-13-00)

11-13-00 Oneworld Environment News Service reports that the recent court decision to allow the Narmada Dam to go ahead has drawn protesters to New Delhi demanding a meeting with visiting World Bank President, Wolfensohn. The Bank has come under criticism recently because of its apparent change in position regarding the dam project which it pulled out of in 1993. The court decision has brought warnings from anti-dam groups that there may be violence in effected communities and from government that there will be investigations into possible foreign influence of anti-dam groups. See also World Commission on Dams Report.

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Survey - NGO staff use of Internet



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8. Young Voices from Palestine (11-16-00)

11-15-00 Infopal has collected a series of 6 stories written by Palestinian teenagers. 1st hand accounts of what it's like for youth in Palestine today, these stories talk about the violence, the damage it has done, and the legacy it will leave.



9. Global Immunization Programmes Collapse (11-16-00)

11-13-00 J Donnelly of the Boston Globe writes in an article carried in the Stop TB Initiative, that a 3 decade effort to protect children and adults in the developing world by vaccinating them against 6 killer diseases is quietly falling apart. Reasons for the collapse include wars, HIV/AIDS, deteriorating delivery infrastructures and waning interest from international donors. An estimated 3 million people a year are dying of diseases that can be prevented by vaccines costing about US$1.50 per person.



10. Hurricane Mitch Damage was Man-made & Preventable (11-23-00)

A recent study by World Neighbors found that alternative farming methods staved off the worst damage by Hurricane Mitch which killed thousands, destroyed 500,000 homes, and washed entire farms down mountainsides. Much of the flooding was caused by man-made erosion which left the hillsides so degraded they could no longer hold water or soil. But 10,000 farmers now use a variety of sustainable farming methods. The study showed that sustainably farmed plots suffered 58% less damage in Honduras, 70% less in Nicaragua, and 99% less in Guatemala, compared with nearby, similar but conventional farms.



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8 new VACANCIES - include EVALUATION within their description.



30 new CONSULTANTS - EVALUATION amongst their skills.



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BASE LINE



11. Tobacco Facts (11-08-00)

• 3.5 million people die annually from tobacco related illnesses.
• By 2020 it is predicted that tobacco use will cause more deaths worldwide than HIV, TB, maternal mortality, motor vehicle accidents, suicide and homicide combined.
• Globally, about 47% of men, 12% of women smoke.
• In developing countries, 48% of men, 7% of women smoke. In developed countries, 42% of men, 24% of women smoke.
• By the mid 2020s, it is predicted that only about 15% of the world's smokers will live in developed countries as there will be a shift in the use of tobacco from developed (wealthy) to developing (poor) countries.

12. Immunization in Trouble (11-16-00)

• 10 yrs after UNICEF declared victory in reaching its goal of immunizing 80% of vulnerable populations around the world, many sub-Saharan countries have fallen below 50% and in parts of India the situation is scarcely better.
• 30 million of 130 million children born each year are not vaccinated.
• Routine Immunization levels have fallen in Nigeria from 80% in 1990 to 27% in 1998, in Togo from 100% to 54%, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh from 90% to 30%.
• In spite of a World Health Assembly target that mortality from measles would be reduced by 95% by 2000, in 1999 only 50% of African children are immunized against measles.
• 900,000 mostly African children die from measles each yr.

13. UNAIDS Facts (11-30-00)



Global

• 5.3 million people worldwide were newly infected with HIV this yr.
• 36.1 million people now live with HIV or AIDS.
• 21.8 million people have died from AIDS since the epidemic began.

Sub-Saharan Africa

• 3.8 million people were infected with HIV this yr.
• 25.3 million now live with HIV or AIDS.
• 2.4 million people died of AIDS this yr, up 200,000 from last yr.
• South Africa alone is estimated to lose 22 billion US$ due to AIDS by 2010.
• Estimated cost to reverse this trend and avoid a faster escalation in the future: 3 billion US$.

Eastern Europe

• 700,000 people are living with HIV this yr, compared to 420,000 last yr.
• In the Federation of Russia there were 130,000 people living with HIV in 1999 a number expected to rise to 300,000 by the end of this yr.
• Most HIV infections are still among intravenous drug users but without proper interventions the epidemic could be generalized in the population in 3 to 4 yrs.

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This issue compiled by Chris Morry cmorry@comminit.com



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