The Drum Beat 79 - Review of Tempo, About Time, Base Line (from 12/05 - 01/30)

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This Drum Beat pulls together some compelling stories and info from The C. I. Home Page from 4 Dec. 2000 - 30 Jan. 2001. Material changes regularly.


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TEMPO



1. Youssou N'Dour Leads African Youth to the Internet (12-04-00)

10-24-00 D Yap reports in Wired News that Youssou N'Dour announced the launch of the nonprofit Youth Network for Development (YND) Foundation and his own YND 'Joko Project' for Senegal. Designed to increase net access and training for young people, the Joko Project will provide 9 cybercafes in Senegal and 9 in expatriate Senegalese communities around the world. A single website will publish youth content and permit real time chat. Western mentors will provide technical training for Senegalese youth who will fill an initial 65 'Joko' jobs.



2. 'Dotcommies' Take Over Cuba (01-08-01)

12-20-00 T Ashby and E Bourget of the Christian Science Monitor report on a new revolution in Cuba. The Cuban government, supported by non-American foreign investment, has developed an electronics industry producing semiconductors and computers, several ISP's, over 30 software companies, and by 2004, a digital telecom system. With 8 universities offering IT degrees, computer youth clubs and adult training programmes across the island, and the highest number of college grads in Latin America, Cuba is poised to become a digital hub.

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Opportunities - Award of US$ 1 million - International Associateships in Women's Studies Research - See the Home Page Banners

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3. Commerce Versus Lives: Brazil's Choice is Making a Difference (01-08-01)

Dec 2000 the Treatment Action Group's M Harrington asked why Brazil gets free drugs to HIV/AIDS patients where others don't. He said drug companies offer too little at too high a price, rich governments demand reduced use of cheaper generic drugs but won't pay the difference, and even UNAIDS programmes reach few without significant reductions in treatment costs. Brazil uses locally made cheap generic drugs that are supplied free to 87,500 of its 580,000 HIV/AIDS patients and has reduced AIDS mortality by 50% since 1996.



4. Soap Operas Serve Health, Send Messages (01-18-01)

01-12-01 Health Central reports that research from the Centres of Disease Control and Prevention shows that 38 million US viewers watch daytime television at least twice a week and 50% describe learning something about disease prevention from the story lines. Over 33% take action on what they learned. The results confirm that TV plays an important role in communicating health and social issues, said Sonny Fox, of Population Communications International.



5. HIV Prevention Through a Crack Down on Traditional, Social & Sexual Practices (01-22-01)

01-12-01 Wall Street Journal - On Lake Victoria, 100's of communities have cracked down on traditional social and sexual practices that help spread HIV. A Dutch project using maps to pinpoint clubs, abandoned huts and other hotspots for HIV transmission, gave communities information that led them to use local militia to patrol wells, mills and abandoned huts and punish those they find after hours, create laws to limit women's drinking, criminalize 'flirtation' and ban some harvest rites. Views on these initiatives are being sought by the Af-AIDS discussion group.



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New Drum Role - The People's Health Assembly: Revitalizing the Promise of "Health for All" Z Chowdhury & M Rowson reflect critically on the promise of the Alma Ata health declaration of 1978, the failure to reach its goal of 'Health for All' by 2000, and the importance of the People's Health Assembly in understanding the failure and reinvigorating commitment to the goal.

Previous Drum Roles are archived and cover issues such as the World Bank's Global Development Gateway, Palestinian youth and the effects of violence, community radio in India, and rethinking radio in light of new technologies.

If you have a Drum Role idea, contact cmorry@comminit.com


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ABOUT TIME



6. Trafficking in Humans: The 3rd Largest Area of Organised Crime (12-07-00)

11-29-00 By M Osava of IPS, as posted on WomensNet. The international trafficking of human beings, especially of women forced into prostitution, represents the world's 3rd largest area of organised crime, and a business that produces 7 billion dollars annually. Only the illegal drugs and arms trade produce greater profits. Every year, nearly 1 million women worldwide are victims of the activity - which amounts to slavery - says P Arlacchi, ED of the United Nations Office for Drug Control & Crime Prevention (ODCCP).



7. Chinese Face Blood Bank AIDS Timebomb (12-14-00)

11-30-00 C Sui AFP reports the village of Wenlou has been 'devoured' by AIDS with terrifying implications for China. In the past 2 years 30 of the 800 residents have died from the disease and a sample test of 155 villagers found that 65% were HIV-positive. The problems in Wenlou stem from unhygienic blood banks that toured the country from the early 1980s paying for blood. Wenlou villagers flocked to give blood, making 5 dollars each time. The blood stations would put the blood in a big tub, extract the plasma and then pump the remainder back into the peasants. Though there is as yet no study on how many people were paid for blood before the practice was banned in 1998, estimates run into 10s of millions.



8. South African Doctor puts Patient Rights before Patent Rights (01-18-01)

01-10-01 S Valentine of health-e online news service reports on Dr Andrews who is importing the generic anti-fungal drug, Biozole, from Thailand for the treatment of cryptococcal meningitis, a disease to which HIV/AIDS patients are prone. The patented version of this drug, fluconazole, is made by Pfizer. It can cost up to R120 per capsule as opposed to R2 per capsule for the generic. Pfizer signed an agreement with the South African government to make fluconazole available for free as of Dec 2000 but due to technicalities the drug is not yet available and all of Dr Andrew's cryptococcal meningitis patients have died in the meantime.



9. Sex-Workers Sterilised to Prevent Babies & "STD's" (01-22-01)

01-15-01 A story in The Telegraph India covered by Propoor reports that Indian brothel owners have had radical hysterectomies performed on scores of tribal sex workers. The owners tell them the operation - performed crudely by local quacks - will prevent them from having babies, allow them to earn more money, and protect them from STD's including AIDS. Indian human rights groups and women's organisations are calling it a barbaric violation of basic human rights and demanding a complete investigation.



10. Education System in Danger of Collapse from HIV/AIDS (01-25-01)

01-09-01 M Harvey at WOZA reports in Allafrica that a leaked document from the South African Dep of Education says AIDS will become the single biggest killer of teachers this year and calls for a total replanning of the education system. Unicef says 860,000 mostly African children lost their teachers to AIDS in 1999 and teacher deaths are overtaking teacher training. Macro-economic policies designed to respond to globalisation are exacerbating the problem as public money is taken away from hiring and training new teachers.



BASE LINE



11. Amazon Rainforest Gone in 20 Years? (01-11-01)

Source: Latin America Newsletters Jan 2001

• 4% of the Amazon rainforest was destroyed between 1500 and the 1970's.
• 75 - 95% will be destroyed over the next 20 years.
• The speed of destruction has doubled over the past 20 years to 20,000 sq km's (the size of France) per year.

These figures are based on accelerating destruction stemming from Brazil's Avança Brazil development programme that began last year.



12. State of Africa's Internet 2000 (01-29-01)

Source: US Internet Council State of the Internet Report 2000.

• The USIC Report 2000 finds that high connection costs, low incomes, poor infrastructure, illiteracy, lack of trained personnel, disinterest and a failure to understand the benefits of Internet access continue to slow the expansion of computer penetration and Internet use in Africa.
• The online population for all of Africa is between 1.15 and 2.58 million.
• South Africa has 1.05 million people on-line followed by Egypt with 50,000, Morocco with 20,000, and Kenya with 15,000.
• The Democratic Republic of Congo is the only country not directly connected to the Internet but only 8 countries have nation-wide dial-up access while 42 countries have public access in the capital cities.

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This issue compiled by Chris Morry cmorry@comminit.com



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