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WEST AFRICA: IRIN-WA Weekly Round-up 397 for 6-12 October 2007

12 Oct 2007 18:18:04 GMT
Source: IRIN

DAKAR, 12 October 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS:

GHANA: Safe abortion services virtually non-existent despite 1985 law AFRICA: First global Arms Trade Treaty would particularly benefit Africa, experts say COTE D'IVOIRE: UN "deeply concerned" about failing peace effort NIGER: Uranium - blessing or curse? BURKINA FASO: Soldiers in the streets NIGERIA: Violence, corruption institutionalised - HRW report AFRICA: WHO predicts worst meningitis epidemic for decade TOGO: Postive signs abound but caution reigns in run-up to pivotal election

GHANA: Safe abortion services virtually non-existent despite 1985 law Ghana has one of Africa's most liberal abortion laws but because of lingering stigma, fear and misunderstanding, safe, affordable abortion services remain virtually non-existent and unsafe abortion is a major cause of death, observers say. While some activists are pushing for lifting restrictions altogether, health experts say the focus should be on ensuring the health sector effectively provides what the current law allows. Under a law passed in 1985, abortion is allowed in cases of rape or incest, defilement of the mentally handicapped, foetal impairment and to save the life or physical or mental health of the woman. But stigma attached to abortion and ignorance about the law are such that even women who are within their legal rights are afraid to seek an abortion, and many health facilities do not offer such services, experts say. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74774

AFRICA: First global Arms Trade Treaty would particularly benefit Africa, experts say The creation of a global Arms Trade Treaty currently being debated by the United Nations' first committee would particularly benefit Africa according to various arms control experts. "Arms don't necessarily cause conflicts in Africa but they do fuel them and make them bloodier and more costly," Oxfam's Debbie Hillier, a policy advisor on small arms who spoke to IRIN. She is the lead author of a study released on 11 October titled 'Africa's Missing Billions' which claims to be the first report to estimate the overall effects of conflict on the Gross Domestic Product of economies across the continent. It found the cost of the armed conflicts across Africa between 1990 and 2005 was around $300 billion, which is roughly equal to the amount of money all African countries received in international aid. "On average a war, civil war or insurgency shrinks an African economy by 15 percent," the report said.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74745

COTE D'IVOIRE: UN "deeply concerned" about failing peace effort The UN Secretary-General is "deeply concerned" by the failure of the government and former rebels in Côte d'Ivoire to achieve steps toward peace. In his latest report on Côte d'Ivoire, released 10 October, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said lagging progress is undermining the Ouagadougou peace accord, which observers have called the last, best hope for the country after several previous agreements crumbled under political wrangling. "I am deeply concerned that the failure to adhere to the timelines set out in the Agreement has led to a slackening of momentum which, if it continues, could undermine successful implementation." The peace accord, signed in March 2007, laid out several deadlines for disarmament and demobilisation, preparations for long-overdue presidential elections and security reforms. Most of the deadlines have slipped and some of the actions have yet to get off the ground, according to the report. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74748

NIGER: Uranium - blessing or curse? As the global demand for nuclear energy rises, analysts say the large amount of uranium in Niger is not a benefit to the country's people but adds to the serious problems facing the region. Niger, an impoverished country on the southern fringe of the Sahara desert, has one of the world's largest reserves of uranium, the main source of nuclear fuel - but virtually nothing to show for it. Instead, say local and international organisations, uranium mining by foreign-dominated companies has caused environmental damage and health problems in the far north of the country. The mining operations are also causing domestic political tensions: one of the main demands of an armed militia that has been fighting Niger's army since February, the Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ), is a more equitable distribution of the revenues from uranium mining. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74738

BURKINA FASO: Soldiers in the streets Soldiers in Burkina Faso took to the streets and threatened to use force this week after talks over working conditions broke down. Around 100 soldiers, some dressed in military fatigues, chanted and shouted in central Ouagadougou on 7 October, after they were denied entrance to the officers mess. Some of the soldiers briefly occupied the streets again on 9 October. Gendarmes surrounded the army headquarters after a mob of soldiers attempted to march to the officers' building. In the talks, which collapsed at the end of September, the soldiers demanded a five-year increase in the time they are allowed to serve in the army. (The country has extremely high unemployment). The soldiers also demanded an increase in pensions to reflect the current cost of living. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74739

NIGERIA: Violence, corruption institutionalised - HRW report Nigerian leaders are so violent and corrupt that their conduct "more resembles criminal activity than democratic governance", according to a scathing report issued by Human Rights Watch on 9 October. "Violence, corruption and impunity are not just problems that government has failed to tackle; they are systemic abuses that flow from the heart of the very same government institutions that should be working to combat them," the report, titled Criminal Politics: Violence, "Godfathers" and Corruption in Nigeria, said. In some Nigerian states, powerful political "godfathers" control politicians, the report said. "In return, the 'godfathers' have captured government institutions to serve their own interests."

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74712

AFRICA: WHO predicts worst meningitis epidemic for decade The end of the rainy season in Africa could trigger the worst meningitis epidemic to hit the continent in a decade, which the international community is poorly prepared to handle, the World Health Organization warned on 9 October. At least 80 million people living in 21 countries from Ethiopia in East Africa to Mauritania in West Africa that make up a region often called Africa's 'meningitis belt' might need to be injected with preventative vaccines this year, WHO said at an emergency meeting held in the Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74722

TOGO: Postive signs abound but caution reigns in run-up to pivotal election If Togo's parliamentary election set for 14 October is peaceful and credible, the country could begin to shed the burden of its tumultuous and undemocratic past and regain favour with the international community, politicians and analysts say. In the run up to the election, as electoral lists were being drawn up and political campaigns got underway, observers say they were encouraged by the seriousness of the process, in which nearly 2,200 candidates will vie for 81 seats. Civil society and many citizens also appeared to recognise the importance of pulling off an orderly and fair poll, observers say. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74724

© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: <a href="http://www.IRINnews.org">http://www.IRINnews.org</a>

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Last updated:Fri Oct 12 18:20:56 2007