Moyiga Nduru
JOHANNESBURG, Apr 7 2006 (IPS) – The figures tell it all. In South Africa, 37 percent of the country s doctors and seven percent of its nurses have migrated to Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Portugal, Britain and the United States.
The figures tell it all. In South Africa, 37 percent of the country s doctors and seven percent of its nurses have migrated to Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Portugal, Britain and the United States.
In Zimbabwe, 11 percent of doctors and 34 percent of nurses have left in search of greener pastures.
These statistics, compiled by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), reflect the magnitude of the health worker brain drain in So…
Brian Conley and Isam Rashid
BAGHDAD, Jun 7 2006 (IPS) – Baghdad s central morgue received more than a thousand bodies each month this year, a doctor has revealed. The body count here gives a more accurate picture of the story in Baghdad than any official statistics.
Baghdad s central morgue received more than a thousand bodies each month this year, a doctor has revealed. The body count here gives a more accurate picture of the story in Baghdad than any official statistics.
Before the war this morgue located at Bab al-Mu atham near the city centre received only about 200 to 300 bodies a month, Dr Kais Hassan who has worked at the morgue said.
There are only three storage rooms, and two doctors at the centre. Today the morgue is overflowing. On some days more t…
Antoaneta Bezlova
BEIJING, Jul 19 2006 (IPS) – Responding to criticism that it cruelly and arbitrarily executes a large number of its citizens each year, Chinese officials now are gradually moving toward what they say is a more discreet way of killing its prisoners: Mobile vans..
Human rights critics say they may look more like officially sanctioned roaming death squads, which simply allow China to execute its prisoners more quickly, easily and out of the public eye. Chinese legal officials counter that its fleet of mobile execution vehicles are a more humane form of carrying out death sentences.
Both sides agree they are a departure from publicly held execution rallies organised in the past.
I think it is definitely a progress for China and it shows more con…
Juan Michel – Special to IPS*
TORONTO, Aug 25 2006 (IPS) – When it comes to responding to HIV and AIDS, Muslims are neither better nor worse than anyone else, but in its progressive form, Islam is certainly better prepared to respond than the Vatican, says Farid Esack.
In the following interview, this South African Muslim professor and as he defines himself anti-AIDS militant, talks about mutual stereotypes, why religions fear sex, and the sacred nature of entering into the life of an HIV-positive person.
AIDS is not just simply a disease, but a fundamental problem of injustice, says Esack, interviewed during a break at the hectic International AIDS Conference 2006 held in Toronto Aug. 13-18. If that were not so, why is it that those affected are mostly Africans, bla…
Aaron Glantz
SAN FRANCISCO, California, Oct 26 2006 (IPS) – For the first time since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, active-duty members of the military are asking members of Congress to end the occupation of Iraq and bring U.S. soldiers home.
More than 100 soldiers announced Wednesday that they are seeking protection under the Military Whistle-Blower Protection Act (DOD directive 7050.6) to file a protected communication to Congress without fear of reprisal.
Among them is Navy Seaman Jonathan Hutto, who had to leave his base in the state of Virginia and change into civilian clothes to take part in a morning teleconference.
The discussion needs to shift from whether to stay or get out to how best to get out, he told reporters.
Hutto said he had dou…
Marwaan Macan-Markar
PHUKET, Nov 29 2006 (IPS) – The approaching Christmas has brought a rare sparkle to the eyes of a 45-year-old Thai mother coping with the stigma of being infected with HIV. She smiles as she snips away with a pair of scissors, shaping paper for a decorative ball.
Sitting around a table and engaged in similar activity are three other Thai mothers, also infected with the virus that triggers auto-immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
In all, there are 22 women residing at the Life Home Project, located in the main town of this resort island, churning out Christmas decorations in an effort to engage with the world beyond the one-storey building that serves as their haven. Major hotels along the popular beach at Patong, a 30-minute drive from the town cen…
Stephen Leahy
BROOKLIN, Canada, Jan 9 2007 (IPS) – Widespread use of genetically engineered (GE) crops remains limited worldwide, even as growing weed and pest issues are forcing farmers to use ever greater amounts of pesticides.
More than 70 percent of large-scale GE planting is still limited to the U.S. and Argentina, according to a new report released Tuesday by Friends of the Earth International (FOEI).
No GM (GE) crop on the market today offers benefits to the consumer in terms of quality or price, and to date these crops have done nothing to alleviate hunger or poverty in Africa or elsewhere, said Nnimmo Bassey of Friends of the Earth Africa in Nigeria.
The great majority of GM (GE) crops cultivated today are used as high-priced animal feed to supply r…
Emad Mekay
WASHINGTON, Mar 15 2007 (IPS) – Leaders of indigenous communities in Ecuador are pressing their government to investigate senior executives from U.S. oil giant Chevron for an alleged environmental fraud scheme in the mid-1990s related to a long-running six-billion dollar class action suit in the South American nation.
But the U.S. oil giant vehemently denies the accusations and says it has already been absolved by the local authorities.
Leaders from CONAIE, Ecuador #39s powerful indigenous federation, which represents millions of people, say in a new letter to the Quito government that the U.S. company defrauded the authorities during an environmental clean-up more than nine years ago.
The indigenous leaders named Rodrigo Perez Pallares, Chevron #39…
Mithre J. Sandrasagra
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 18 2007 (IPS) – The protection and well-being of children in Sudan are at a critical juncture, according to a report released Wednesday by Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, a global network of non-governmental organisations.
Despite the 2005 peace agreement that ended 21 years of civil conflict between the government of Sudan and the Sudan People s Liberation Movement, Darfur remains host to one of the largest humanitarian operations in the world: 92 NGOs and Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and 14 UN agencies maintain a presence there.
According to the report, Sudan s Children at a Crossroads: An Urgent Need for Protection , Sudanese government restrictions, deteriorating security, poor roads, and limited staffing…
Moyiga Nduru
JOHANNESBURG, May 25 2007 (IPS) – A shortage of health care workers is paralysing the health system in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa, and threatens the lives of millions, particularly in rural areas, warns Medecins Sans Frontieres, a global nongovernmental organisation specialising in medical services.
A new report by the organisation, launched in South Africa s commercial hub of Johannesburg yesterday (24 May), shows that only South Africa has met the World Health Organisation (WHO) target for an adequate supply of health care workers: 74.3 doctors, 393 nurses and 468 health providers per 100,000 people.
The minimum WHO requirement is 20 doctors, 100 nurses and 228 health providers per 100,000 people. Even if South Africa meets the WHO tar…