Health as a Human Right
This page updated on-line at
http://www.africafocus.org/intro-health.php.
About these pages|Continent-wide and Global Issues|Climate Change and the Environment|Economy and Development|Peace and Security|Food and Agriculture
Talking Points on Health as a Human Right
We All Must Respond to Ebola
Statement by US-Africa Network, September 19, 2014
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Ebola center in Sierra Leone. National and international efforts to stop the spread of the epidemic have been insufficient to contain it. Photo credits: ©EC/ECHO/Cyprien Fabre.
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Recent bulletins on Health
October 28, 2019 Africa/Global: Untapped Potential for Africa Climate Actions
http://www.africafocus.org/docs19/clim1910.php
From off-grid solar home systems (SHS) to utility-scale solar and
wind installations, the potential for major advances in use of
renewable energy is growing rapidly on the African continent. If
this potential is materialized at a faster pace, Africa countries
could contribute significantly to mitigating the global climate
crisis. This would also reduce the ongoing damage to the
environmental health of their citizens, whether from kerosene lamps
in rural areas or massive coal pollution in South Africa.
September 12, 2019 South Africa: Spotlight on Gender-based Violence
http://www.africafocus.org/docs19/sa1909b.php
“Our nation is in mourning and pain. Over the past few days, our
country has been deeply traumatised by acts of extreme violence
perpetrated by men against women and children. These acts of
violence have made us doubt the very foundation of our democratic
society, our commitment to human rights and human dignity, to
equality, to peace and to justice. … Violence against women has
become more than a national crisis. It is a crime against our
common humanity.” - President Cyril Ramaphosa, September 5, 2019
July 15, 2019 Africa/Global: New Horizon for Off-Grid Solar
http://www.africafocus.org/docs19/sol1907.php
With their most dramatic success in Kenya and other East African
countries, off-grid solar home systems are expanding rapidly,
reaching more consumers and extending beyond basic lighting and
mobile-phone charging, now even offering bundles with solar-powered
flat-screen televisions. Costs continue to drop precipitously, and,
according to
Beyond Fire, a new report released at the end of May, the next
new horizon may be in the kitchen, with solar-energy-powered
cooking.
July 2, 2019 Kenya/Global: Big Victory for #SaveLamu/#deCOALonize
http://www.africafocus.org/docs19/coal1907.php
“On Wednesday 26th June, Kenya’s National Environment Tribunal
(NET) made a landmark ruling that set aside the license granted to
Amu Power Company Ltd by the National Environment Management
Authority (NEMA) to construct a 1050MW coal plant in Lamu. The
tribunal noted that … there was no evidence that Amu Power properly
informed residents of Lamu of the impacts that the coal plant
project would have on their environment, livelihood or health.” -
#deCOALonize press release, June 29, 2019
June 19, 2019 AfricaFocus Updates: Sudan, Ebola, Mozambique
http://www.africafocus.org/docs19/upd1906.php
AfricaFocus Bulletin normally contains material on one topic only,
as in bulletins earlier this year on Mozambique in January and March, Sudan in March
, and
Ebola in April. Each provides substantive excepts from current
material as well as links for ongoing coverage.
April 15, 2019 Africa/Global: Ebola Resurgence Tests Global Response
http://www.africafocus.org/docs19/eb1904.php
“Despite a worsening Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of
Congo, the World Health Organization on Friday again decided not
to declare the outbreak
a global health emergency. While expressing ´deep concern´ about the number of increasing
cases in parts of Congo, and the potential risk of the disease
spreading to neighboring countries, the W.H.O. said the epidemic
did not meet the criteria for declaring an international public
health emergency.” - New York Times, April 12, 2019
(http://tinyurl.com/y5ochm2v)
March 22, 2019 Southern Africa/Global: Cyclone Idai and Climate Justice
http://www.africafocus.org/docs19/idai1903.php
A week after Cyclone Idai struck the coast of Mozambique near
Beira, there are still people awaiting rescue from treetops and
roofs. The death toll, with confirmed deaths numbering in the
high hundreds, is still unknown, with the largest number in Mozambique,
and still devastating numbers in Zimbabwe and Malawi as well. The
full impact has been slow to emerge, but it is finally gaining more
attention from world media.
December 10, 2018 Africa/Global: Green New Deal Could Be Game-Changer
http://www.africafocus.org/docs18/clim1812.php
“And yet here’s the truly strange thing: I feel more optimistic
about our collective chances of averting climate breakdown than I
have in years. For the first time, I see a clear and credible
political pathway that could get us to safety, a place in which
the worst climate outcomes are avoided and a new social compact is
forged that is radically more humane than anything currently on
offer.” - Naomi Klein on the Green New Deal
November 12, 2018 Africa: Why Mining is Hard to Tax
http://www.africafocus.org/docs18/tax1811.php
"In Africa as elsewhere in the world, while energy companies might be somewhat undertaxed,
mining companies typically are greatly under-taxed. Indeed, it is only a
slight exaggeration to say that, with a few significant exceptions, notably
Botswana’s diamond mines, mining in Africa is barely taxed at all. One reliable
source indicates that contemporary African governments collect about 55% of the total
value of energy production in tax revenue, but only 3% of the value of mining
production." - Taxing Africa
November 12, 2018 Africa: Africa Mining Vision
http://www.africafocus.org/docs18/amv1811.php
The Africa Mining Vision (AMV) was adopted by Heads of State at the February 2009
African Union summit following the October 2008 meeting of African Ministers
responsible for Mineral Resources Development. An action plan was adopted in December
2011, and the African Minerals Development Centre (https://www.uneca.org/amdc)
launched in December 2013. The lead role in developing the vision was taken by
African professional staff at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
(UNECA), in consultation not only with African governments but also with civil
society organizations and specialists on the mining sector.
October 16, 2018 Africa/Global: Drug Company Profits vs. Public Health
http://www.africafocus.org/docs18/drug1810.php
"Oxfam examined publicly available data on subsidiaries of four of the largest US
drug companies and found a striking pattern. In the countries analyzed that have
standard corporate tax rates, rich or poor, the corporations’ pretax profits were
low. In eight advanced economies, drug company profits averaged 7 percent, while in
seven developing countries they averaged 5 percent. Yet globally, these corporations
reported annual global profits of up to 30 percent. So where were the high profits?
Tax havens. In four countries that charge low or no corporate tax rates, these
companies posted skyrocketing 31 percent profit margins." - Oxfam, September 2018
June 20, 2018 Congo (Kinshasa): Ebola Response Shows Lessons Learned
http://www.africafocus.org/docs18/eb1806.php
The Democratic Republic of Congo has extensive experience in successfully containing
Ebola outbreaks (the one which was reported in May is the ninth since the first in
1976). But this one, with cases in Mbandaka, a river-port city of over one million
people on the country's western border, raised the nightmare scenario of spreading to
other river-port cities such as the capital Kinshasa (over 11 million people), as well
as Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo, and Bangui in the Central African
Republic. But, although victory is not assured, so far the response by national and
international health agencies has been a model of applying lessons learned.
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