Still waiting for my final grades that marks either my first year as a postgraduate student or me jumping from the Eiffel Tower
I KNOW THE STRESS IS BAD BECAUSE COFFEE IS NOT WORKING….
Seriously, this semester was fresh pits of hell
That’s all, I am beyond anxious
The Uganda Ministry of Health confirmed an outbreak of Ebola on the border of the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo). Health Security is a major concern for African states but yet majority of African States don’t include Health Security concerns in their foreign policy objectives. The border between both countries need constant testing on site for anyone coming into the country.
During the MERS outbreak, Japan made travelers go through rigorous screenings before entry. In some cases, depending on the country, Japan simply did not allow entry. Proactive measures in health security might not be PC but such measures will save lives and the economy.
The cases of Ebola in the DRC this week show a decrease(54 cases) compared to the 88 cases reported two weeks ago.
Source: ISS Africa
Algeria is currently between the process of revolution and the growing pains towards the democracy transition. However, Algeria is now the fourth African country to be declared “MALARIA FREE”. The other African countries declared Malaria free are: Lesotho, Mauritius and Seychelles. This is worth celebrating in the fog of war.
This is so beyond tragic, enough money for weapons but none for medical professionals. Irony, so many young brilliant minds leave Pakistan to be doctors in global north countries. My former boss was of Pakistani decent, brilliant and a resume that screamed “Global Health Professional”. The tragedy here is the additional role of stigma.
Public health education is so necessary. It must be communicated in a manner which EVERYONE in the community is clear on the illness/disease. Lastly, countries such as Pakistan refuse to discuss topics such as HIV in open dialogue with the population. Pakistan now has the second growing number of HIV cases in Asia.
“SAY NO TO THY SWINE”
Source: Bloomberg
The African Swine Fever is harmless to humans but fatal to pigs. It has been reported in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Cambodia, and North Korea. In China, there was a case of frozen pork dumplings getting pulled from the shelves
There are also stronger consequences in the market with pork stocks
Click below for a current update on the African Swine from FAO
Here is a bit on the transmission of the transmission of the African Swine Fever. It is old but very educational.
“ASF was first documented in Kenya in 1921.
Honestly, it is the labeling of ASF as the Ebola of pigs that makes me cringe ....”
See you next PHW!
Former President of Nigeria (1999-2007)
Tendai Biti , Former Zimbabwe Finance Minister (2009-2013)
Mr. Biti was generous with his time to discuss soft power and Africa. Limited time and choppy but I think you can appreciate it.
Mauritius piece was a tad bit problematic….The somersault on which African state got a proper flogging…..
Alain Antil , Director of Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center, Moderator
Greg Mills , Director, Brenthurst Foundation
Tendai Biti , Former Zimbabwe Finance Minister
Thierry Vircoulon , Research Associate at Ifri
Olusegun Obasanjo , Former President of Nigeria
This was the theme for the Ifri Conference on June 7th. We were invited to the conference and also fortunate to ask the former president a question on the current state of Nigeria. The conference touched on elections, political freedoms, authoritarianism and the “strong man/dominant parties” problem. This conference was quite in depth with the occurrences of democracy, election fraud in all 54 states of Africa.
“The process from dictatorship to Democracy is bloody...
For Africa, it is bloody, complicated, corrupt and sometimes rest in ambiguity. ...Kagame anyone??
”
To learn more about IFRI
The recording is in French and English but very easy to follow. Apologies for the recording quality.
See you next Cassava Monday
Whenever, I think of Switzerland
“Where all the power players in the politics, economics and every institution meant to hold a state together come and play.
Pay attention to the impact of such a forum to the IMAGE, BRAND, AND REPUTATION of Switzerland”
The theme was Globalization 4.0, pay attention to the language used to describe South Africa and Rwanda. While, I recommend following up on all the videos, for the purpose Cassava Tuesday, enjoy the following videos.
By the way, the next meeting will be held in Ethiopia.
See you next Cassava Tuesday
![20190114_180632_0000[26062].png](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58feb00686e6c0d9650eacf5/1547496294646-423OX49DTAQCWG58Q81X/20190114_180632_0000%5B26062%5D.png)
“Fake it till you make it....
”
The rest of the world sees this image if you say “Fukoshima Daiichi”
AP Photo
THREE YEARS AGO: THE PERCEPTION OF THE JAPANESE BUSINESS MAN
“Yes, Water from the same area......
I would like to try some. ”
“ There are 16,280,000,000,000,000,000,000 Bq of potassium-40, rubidium-87 and many more radionuclides already in the world’s oceans and anything from Fukushima won’t affect these levels at all.”
The plan is to slowly release the TREATED water into the pacific ocean. The pacific ocean has some other pressing issues and this will not be the reason for massive fish death or “disruption” to the ecosystem.
By the way, for massive fish deaths, just take a look at Australia. We have an interesting video below on the reasons behind these catastrophic deaths.
“Great Britain’s National Radiological Protection Board
(NRPB) predicts that there will be up to 1,000 additional
cancers over the next 70 years among the population of Western Europe exposed to fallout from the accident at Chernobyl. ”
Increasingly, we notice that international organizations are becoming stronger non state actors in state affairs. However, there is a pick and choose attitude towards this “care for the environment and people”.
Where is the Greenpeace outrage on the United States Pacific Ocean States constantly recycling the pacific? As you filter the pacific, it gets saltier and can you guess the damage to the ecosystem?
The Mekong River and the South China Sea did not exactly blossom from the U.S administration’s use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War or “Conflict”
Kampala will host the 20th Congress of the African Water Association with over 2000 actors expected to discuss and provide solutions on WASH concerns from a scientific and technical lens.
Just another example of South Korea displaying middle power behavior. The title is not just earned because a state is geographically in the middle of two different size states or on paper(economically speaking). The state must invest in forums and conferences that invite the world to deal with security matters such as water.
Korea International Water Week
This small island state is becoming more active in engagement through small state niche diplomacy. This forum will focus on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and West African States. The aim is to understand water scarcity in agriculture and capitalize on it for sustainable development, food and nutrition security, and tackling climate change. They will focus on six core areas: Water and Migration, Drought Preparedness, Mechanisms, Water and Nutrition, Sustainable Agriculture Water Use and Saline Agriculture.
The Regional power will be hosting a water related conference. AfricanSan5 and FSM5 are the organizations behind this event of looking at Sustainability, Policies,Funding, Practices of Sanitation.
The focus of this blog is always on Africa and Asia but every now and then we get alarming news from our neighboring continents.
Australia is experiencing a very bipolar version of mother nature and a combination of human stupidity. There are mass fish deaths in some rivers with reports of over 1 million in a few weeks. Another concern is the raising temperatures in Australia with temperatures ranging from 1130°C (113°F) to 50°C (122°F) .
See you next Mulday!