DR Congo: " There is no childhood's end I am your childhood friend..."

France 24 reports. ( Translated by some translation service and cleaned up by me errors are mine alone.)  I am guessing this is a collaborative effort but Charly Kasereka whose work appears often on this blog has given a Goma perspective. Charly has blogged the story on his own blog ( something I discovered after working on this ). I have used additional material from Charly's blog and have broken with my usual convention of not making comments on Charly's work.

Anti-malaria nets diverted for gardening in Goma

                                                                           A fenced garden Butembo by nets

Each year about 180,000 people die from malaria in the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, many of the beneficiaries of the campaign to distribute mosquito nets, initiated by the government, do not use the nets to prevent the spread of the malaria virus, but rather for gardening.

I am only too well aware of the malaria issues facing both Uganda and the DDR Congo having recently had family in Uganda and still having family members in Goma. Charly Kasereka blogs

" Children under 5 years and pregnant women are the main victims of this disease in several provinces of the DRC my country , that's according to statistics from the WHO / DRC."

One of our observers in Goma, eastern DRC, took these photos that show how mosquito nets, treated with anti-mosquito products are used to protect trees from insects or to create fences in gardens .

"One of our observers..."  shades of Graham Greene  " Our man in in Havana " Goma, a lot of people rely on Kasereka to get news of the Kivus out to the world.

This phenomenon is not unique to the DRC: it has been observed in many African countries where malaria is endemic, including Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya. The uses are many: the nets have been used in the manufacture of fishing nets, cages for hens, or even veils for wedding dresses. The alternative uses are often the result of a lack of information about the real purpose of these nets.

A few facts about the malaria burden that Africa suffers under. The World Health Organisation (WHO ) reports.

" According to the latest estimates, released in December 2013, there were about 207 million cases of malaria in 2012 (with an uncertainty range of 135 million to 287 million) and an estimated 627 000 deaths (with an uncertainty range of 473 000 to 789 000). Malaria mortality rates have fallen by 45% globally since 2000, and by 49% in the WHO African Region.

Most deaths occur among children living in Africa where a child dies every minute from malaria. Malaria mortality rates among children in Africa have been reduced by an estimated 54% since 2000. "

                                                                  Net in a garden of Goma. Photo: Charly Kasereka.

"These people use them for gardening, while others wait to receive them"
Charly Kasereka is a reporter for a local radio station in Goma, North Kivu.

In Goma, I found that nets were used not only to cover the beds, but many other things too. They surround mango, fence home gardens, and fill the holes in the fences. We see it everywhere here, and elsewhere in the region.

It breaks my heart that malaria continues to kill because people do not properly use these nets that are distributed free. Medical centers that are part of the national program against malaria, provide education on the use of the nets. Each family receives a number of nets based on the number of people in the household. For example, for a family of five, they will receive two.

Charly on his blog gives further information from Goma.

" Several strategies have been implemented, awareness campaigns and the distribution of mosquito nets, but the disease remains. In my neighborhood there are at least ten clinics and health centers alongside a multitude of pharmacies. Everywhere we speak only of malaria. At these clinics and health centers , 99% of the patients are suffering from malaria."

But some unscrupulous people registering for mosquito nets exaggerate the number of people in their family, others go to different distribution points to receive more. A guy in my neighborhood has even boasted of three nets for himself.These people use them for gardening, while others are still waiting to receive one!

                                   A mosquito net to protect fruit trees from birds and insects. Photo: Charly Kasereka.

The tragedy is that this is a preventable and curable disease.

Food Security

Scoop reports  New Zealand mishears the world on food Monday, 1 October 2012, 10:20 am Press Release: Letitia Isa

In a major admission to Massey University’s Executive MBA students by the World Bank in New York, New Zealand’s policy makers’ misunderstanding of ‘Food Safety,’ may be adding thousands of dollars to the individual cost of agricultural production at the farm gate.

“I was stunned to learn what we know as Food Security is defined by the World Bank as Food Safety. It may sound like semantics but it carries a huge implication for our agricultural producers and exporters,” says Letitia Isa, a student of Massey University Executive MBA programme.

The World Health Organisation  is clear on food security.

as adequate water and sanitation.

Food security is a complex sustainable development issue, linked to health through malnutrition, but also to sustainable economic development, environment, and trade. There is a great deal of debate around food security with some arguing that:

• There is enough food in the world to feed everyone adequately; the problem is distribution.
• Future food needs can - or cannot - be met by current levels of production.
• National food security is paramount - or no longer necessary because of global trade.
• Globalization may - or may not - lead to the persistence of food insecurity and poverty in rural communities.

The consequences are grave as Dr Beddington the UK Chief Scientist details.

"A "perfect storm" of food shortages, scarce water and insufficient energy resources threaten to unleash public unrest, cross-border conflicts and mass migration as people flee from the worst-affected regions, the UK government's chief scientist will warn tomorrow.

"We head into a perfect storm in 2030, because all of these things are operating on the same time frame," Beddington told the Guardian.

"If we don't address this, we can expect major destabilisation, an increase in rioting and potentially significant problems with international migration, as people move out to avoid food and water shortages," he added.

"Our food reserves are at a 50-year low, but by 2030 we need to be producing 50% more food. At the same time, we will need 50% more energy, and 30% more fresh water.

"There are dramatic problems out there, particularly with water and food, but energy also, and they are all intimately connected," Beddington said. "You can't think about dealing with one without considering the others. We must deal with all of these together."

“This simple but fundamental misapprehension may see New Zealand jumping ever higher but illusionary hurdles. Instead of higher standards boosting returns, they may in fact be eroding them for almost no financial gain.

“When the World Bank says Food Safety they are not talking stainless steel, the National Animal Identification and Tracing Scheme or the Emissions Trading Scheme. What the World Bank means is how New Zealand can contribute to the feeding nine billion people by 2050.

Exactly what the World Bank are saying is likely to get lost because of the convoluted way they are saying it. The point remains that a looming crisis is upon us. This blog has developed a focus on Africa and I can assure you that the price of food is increasing in Kampala Uganda.

“That carries with it a powerful but different policy message.

“New Zealand can feed some 24 million people according to the University of Waikato’s Professor of Agribusiness, Jacqueline Rowarth. The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation says developed countries need to increase output by 70 percent to do their bit.

I would have thought we could do a lot better than 24 million people but to do so we need to embrace new technology. Lets face it the Greens are Luddites. 

“It might sound provocative, but we need to seriously weigh the cost-benefits of adopting polices that do not generate tangible revenue at the farm gate, or increase production. While European supermarkets seem to be a de facto political and policy benchmark, are ever higher compliance costs worth it?

“It may sound counter intuitive, but perhaps quantity does have a quality all of its own. A simple metric maybe if a policy adds a dollar of cost, does it produce well over a dollar of added revenue at the farm gate?

“Moreover, are our other policy settings, particularly around Genetically Modified Organisms, retarding New Zealand’s ability to do its fair global share?

All good questions.

“Certainly, the way the World Bank defines Food Safety needs to become central to New Zealand policy formation. If not, we risk unprecedented global disorder that New Zealand could not escape,” Ms Isa concluded.

Actually we probably could escape it because we are so good at producing food and geographically isolated but we need to prevent it happening.

Hat Tip Home Paddock 

DR Congo. Ebola update

TVNZ reports

An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo risks spreading to major towns if not brought under control soon after the death toll doubled within a week, the World Health Organisation has warned.

The number of people killed by the contagious virus for which there is no known treatment has now risen to 31, including five health workers. Ebola causes massive bleeding and kills up to 90% of its victims.

This has been percolating for some time now. Ebola is perhaps the scariest virus we face well the people of Central Africa face.

"The epidemic is not under control. On the contrary the situation is very, very serious," Eugene Kabambi, a WHO spokesman in Congo's capital Kinshasa, told Reuters by phone on Thursday.

"If nothing is done now, the disease will reach other places, and even major towns will be threatened," he said, adding that an estimated $US2 million had to be urgently found to pay for measures to tackle the disease.

Not a lot of money, excuse me have we dropped the ball again ? I get frustrated with Africa but far more frustrated when we in the west drop the ball like this US $ 2 million. If an ebola epidemic happened the cost would be astronomic. 

The outbreak, which is believed to have been caused by tainted bushmeat hunted by local villagers, has so far struck in the towns of Isiro and Viadana in the northeastern province of Orientale.

The real issue will be is this strain airborn if it is the risks multiply exponentially due to the ability of the strain to transmit. 

Some 16 people in neighbouring Uganda died of the disease last month, though the WHO said the two epidemics were not connected.

The latest WHO figures show there are now 65 probable or suspected cases of Ebola in Congo, with 108 people under surveillance.

Kabambi said one suspected case in Kinshasa had come back negative. Congo's ramshackle capital is home to at least nine million people and its health sector is crumbling.

That is very good news isolation is the key to beating this. If it gets to a major city or population area well it doesn't bear thinking about. But one day it will.

Congo's infrastructure has been devastated by decades of corruption, conflict and misrule. The country last year came bottom of a United Nations development index.

Well yes and no. Nothing is as simple as that statement would make it seem. Incidentally the WHO website is a shambles. Ironically the lack of infrastructure is what probably has saved the west from an epidemic. It has also prevented research and killed hundreds of people.