AfricaDigest 10/29/10

[AfricaDigest Manager]

Experts say efforts to beat malaria may backfire
By Neil Bowdler
Science reporter, BBC News

Efforts to eradicate malaria in some countries may be counter-
productive, an international team of researchers suggest.
In the Lancet, they suggest some countries, particularly in sub-
Saharan Africa, may be better pursing a policy of controlling the
disease.
They also criticise the World Health Organization (WHO) for not
providing adequate direction.
But a WHO spokesman said beating malaria must remain the ultimate
goal.

'Noble' goal
The Lancet looks at the feasibility of eradicating malaria from the
map, in the same way smallpox was conquered.
As the report points out, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation set
the world such a target in 2007, an aim which was then endorsed by the
WHO's Director-General Margaret Chan.

The Lancet concludes such a goal, while noble, "could lead to
dangerous swings in funding and political commitment, in malaria and
elsewhere".
And the WHO is accused of failing "to rise to their responsibilities
to give the malaria community essential direction".
The series of articles instead urges a pragmatic approach in which
efforts and resources are concentrated on shrinking the global area
where malaria still prevails.

It suggests some countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, may be
better pursuing a policy of controlling the disease rather than one of
eradication.
The report's authors include Professor Richard Feacham of University
of California's Global Health Group and researchers from the Clinton
Health
Access Initiative.

Saving lives
In an editorial accompanying the series, the Lancet's editor-in-chief
Dr Richard Horton and executive editor Dr Pamela Das, argue control
may save more lives.

"If existing control efforts were indeed scaled up, by 2015, 1.14
million children's lives could be saved in sub-Saharan Africa alone.
This finding is important. The quest for elimination must not distract
existing good malaria control work," they write.
They also conclude that "malaria will only be truly eradicable when an
effective vaccine is fully available".
Responding to the report in a statement, Robert Newman, director of
the WHO's Global Malaria Programme, said the ultimate goal had to be
eradication
"WHO has always supported - and will always continue to support -
endemic countries in their efforts to control and eliminate malaria,"
he writes.
"It is entirely feasible to eliminate malaria from countries and
regions where the intensity of transmission is low to moderate, and
where health systems are strong.

"Eliminating malaria from countries where the intensity of
transmission is high and stable, such as in tropical Africa, will
require more potent tools and stronger health systems than are
available today."

Shrinking map
Malaria is caused by five species of a parasite that can be carried
from human to human by mosquitoes.
Over the last 150 years, the portion of the world where malaria is
still endemic has shrunk, but the disease is still endemic in 99
countries.
However 32 of these countries, most of them on the edges of the
endemic zone, are attempting to eradicate the disease, while the rest
are trying to reduce infections and deaths though control measures.
But switching from a policy of controlling the disease to one of
eradication brings with it problems and risks, according to the
report.
The authors point out that malaria and mosquitoes do not respect
national borders and that both parasite and insect may develop
resistance to existing drugs.
They also warn switching funds from control to eradication may
negatively impact upon measures which have been shown to reduce
infection and mortality.
The picture is further complicated by the fact that countries are
dealing with two main malaria parasite species - Plasmodium falciparum
and Plasmodium vivax.

While there is more research available on the former and more drugs
available to combat it, most of the countries trying to eliminate
malaria currently are largely threatened by the latter species P
vivax.
A combination of drugs from the artemisinin family are generally used
to tackle P falciparum while primaquine is the only registered drug
available to combat P vivax.
The Gates Foundation was unavailable for comment.
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Guinea election hopeful cancels tour with rival

One of the two rival candidates in Guinea's much-delayed presidential
election run-off has pulled out of a scheduled joint tour of the
country.
The tour aimed to ease tensions between their followers ahead of the
vote.
A spokesman for Alpha Conde said that his supporters had opposed him
travelling to the areas affected by violence with his opponent.
The much-delayed run-off is now scheduled for 7 November.
The joint tour by Mr Conde and his rival, Cellou Dalein Diallo, was
announced on Wednesday to help restore a climate of peace before the
vote.
'A set-up'

"The professor [Alpha Conde] wanted to go, but the crowd came to his
home. It is his base that is against this tour," Francois Lonseny
Fall, spokesman for the pro-Conde Rainbow alliance, said according to
AFP news agency.
Hundreds of Conde's supporters gathered around his home in Conakry
shouting "He is going nowhere" and "It is a set-up to eliminate him",
the agency reported.
Mr Diallo told AFP he was "disappointed".
The build up to the run-off has been marred by violent incidents
between rival supporters of the two men.
The run-off had been scheduled for this weekend, but election chief
Gen Toumany Sangare said it had to be postponed because of logistical
problems.
The military seized power in 2008 after the death of long-time
strongman leader Lansana Conte, but army rule led to more political
upheaval and the soldiers eventually agreed to transfer power back to
civilians.
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How ostriches run faster than us
By Victoria Gill
Science and nature reporter, BBC News

They may look ungainly, but ostriches are excellent runners.

Now scientists have discovered how the birds run so fast and,
importantly, so efficiently.

Ostriches use half the energy that we humans need at our top running
speed, say researchers, who made the discovery by comparing humans and
ostriches in a running test.

The secret is their springiness - ostrich tendons store twice as much
"elastic energy" per step than us.


The results of this biomechanics experiment are described in the Royal
Society journal Interface.

Five "very tame" ostriches were involved in the study; the scientists
measured the movement of their limbs and joints and the force with
which the birds' feet hit the ground.

The avian subjects ran on a purpose-built 50m (164ft) running track.
They were fitted with reflective markers on their joints to allow
their movement to be captured in detail.

Five human volunteers were studied in exactly the same way - with
several cameras capturing them from different angles.

Professor Jonas Rubenson, from the University of Western Australia's
School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health, led the study.

He said the findings could provide insight for biologists looking at
the evolution of bipedalism, both in humans and in dinosaurs. They
could also reveal some of the biological secrets of agility, which
should ultimately inform the development of prosthetic limbs and even
robots.

They chose to study ostriches because they are of similar mass to
humans - this mass-matching allowed the team to draw comparisons
between the ostrich and the human gait.

The team was surprised to find that ostriches and humans used nearly
exactly the same amount of mechanical work to "swing" their limbs back
and forth when running.

"The difference lies in the elasticity of their joints," Professor
Rubenson explained.

"Ostriches generate over twice as much power from recoil of elastic
energy stored in tendons than humans, which means they need less
muscle power to run at the same speed.

"Moving with elastic limbs is akin to bouncing on a 'pogo stick',
where you don't have to work very hard to bounce along - so it's all
in the spring of their step."

Story from BBC NEWS:
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Sudan president on safer ground as summit shifted

A weekend meeting of East African leaders has been moved at the last
minute from Kenya to Ethiopia.
The decision came after the International Criminal Court urged Kenya
to arrest Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir if he travelled to Kenya.
The Sudanese leader is wanted by the ICC for genocide and other crimes
committed in Darfur, which he denies.
Unlike Kenya, Ethiopia is not an ICC signatory country and is not
obliged to arrest Mr Bashir.

'Furious'
The Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (Igad), which has six
East African member states, will now hold its summit in the Ethiopian
capital Addis Ababa on Saturday.
A senior official in Mr Bashir's party admitted to the BBC that the
ICC was "part of the reason" the summit had been moved.
The BBC's James Copnall in Nairobi says when President Bashir
travelled to Kenya in August many people were furious.

In July the African Union instructed its members not to apprehend Mr
Bashir.
But Kenyan and African human rights groups have urged Kenya to arrest
the Sudanese head of state if he returns.
The ICC believes Kenya is legally obliged to arrest Mr Bashir, but the
court does not have any power to compel the Kenyans.
The UN estimates more than 300,000 people have died in Darfur since a
civil war broke out in 2003.
The Sudanese government puts the figure at 10,000.
But nobody disputes Darfur has been one of the world's worst
humanitarian crises, our reporter says.
Kenya was not the first ICC signatory to choose not to arrest Mr
Bashir - earlier this year he travelled to Chad, which took no action.
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Somali Islamists al-Shabab 'execute two young women'

Two young women have been publicly executed by Somali Islamist group
al-Shabab, reports say.
They were said to have been shot by a firing squad in the city of
Beledweyne.

The pair, reportedly teenagers, were sentenced to death on Wednesday
after being accused of spying, but a relative insisted they were
innocent.
Somalia has had no functioning government since 1991. The al-Qaeda-
linked group al-Shabab and its allies control much of the country's
south.
The two young women were named by AP news agency as 18-year-old Ayan
Mohamed Jama and 15-year-old Huriyo Ibrahim - though other reports
suggest they may have been older.
Al-Shabab militiamen walked through the town's streets, telling
residents about the executions by loudspeaker and ordering everyone to
attend, reports the agency.
The militia group's regional commander, Sheikh Yusuf Ali Ugas, said
the two had been found guilty of spying and being what he described as
"enemies of Islam".

'Surprising'
But Ayan Mohamed's aunt told a local radio station that they were not
guilty.
"How can young school girls be spies for a government or Western
countries, that is a very surprising matter," she said.
"These militants are doing whatever they want, we don't know what to
do and where to run."
A woman who witnessed the execution, Sadia Osman, also said one of the
young women had said she was innocent of the charges, AP reported.
Another eyewitness described how people in the crowd were shocked by
the sight of the killings.
"One of the women who saw the execution today collapsed and lost
consciousness after she saw the cruel way the girls were shot," Da'ud
Ahmed said.
Somalia's UN-backed government authority only controls parts of
Mogadishu and a few other areas, although it has been gaining ground
from al-Shabab in recent weeks.
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Walmart is Taking the Long View on Africa

I’ve just been in South Africa where I had a hand in setting up an
executive foresight-innovation executive training programto be run in
association with the Stanford Center for Foresight and Innovation.

While I was there I couldn’t help noticing the business print and
radio waves being dominated by the potential entrance of Wal-Mart,
with all the jitters of local businesses considering the knock-ons and
side-effects of the “über cost competitor” turning up at the end of
the street.

If it goes ahead, Wal-Mart will enter via acquisition of local
retailer Massmart which is, as the name suggests, a copy-cat company
anyway, so it would seem all there is to talk about is price. As
things stand, Wal-Mart is in its fifth week of due diligence on
Massmart, currently visiting all 288 stores under acquisition,
according to a recent WSJ report.

Now Wal-Mart is not busting a gut for the SA market, population 45
million, of course. The whole project is about using the South African
operation as gateway into Africa as a whole. It is bet on the 5-to-10-
year-and-beyond future of sub-Saharan Africa.

Massmart Chief Executive Grant Pattison is quoted as saying “you have
to take the long view on Africa,” and this is exactly what Wal-Mart is
doing. Enacting a long forward play for the newly strengthening
African retail market.

Other than inventing the scale-based supply-chain-squeeze model of
retail, which must go down as one of the great business innovations of
all time, Wal-Mart is hardly known as a foresight-based player. As
forward looking as the Massmart acquisition is, Wal-Mart has in fact
been well beaten to the African punch by the Chinese who have been
investing across the continent over the past decade (although the
Chinese investment has been predominantly in infrastructure and
resources, while Wal-Mart’s would be in anticipation of lower-middle
class consumer enrichment on the back of that.)

The glass half full

The Chinese invasion is by far the biggest thing to happen in African
economies since European colonialism, not only due to widespread
infrastructural investment, and not only because it comes without
“Washington Consensus” strings attached, but, even more fundamentally,
because it is driving a zeitgest shift in business confidence. Deep
problems remain, but suddenly the glass that was half empty appears
half full, particularly to occidentals.

One expression of the new half-full perspective is McKinsey’s
breathlessreport (June 2010) on Africa’s economic emergence, entitled
“Lions on the Move,” which starts: “Africa’s collective economy grew
very little during the last two decades of the 20th century. But
sometime in the late 1990s, the continent began to stir. GDP growth
picked up and bounded ahead…”

Asian Tigers. African Lions. Geddit? But when both Wal-Mart and
McKinsey are setting their watches to the near-term future African
economic growth story, you can bet other companies are set to pounce
too.

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Osama at the Top of His Game

BY MICHAEL SCHEUER


On October 27, 2010, Al Jazeera television network broadcasted a new
audiotape by Osama bin Laden meant to exploit the Muslim world’s
growing anger toward France specifically, and against Europe
generally. Defending the recent kidnapping of five French nationals in
Niger, bin Laden said the act was an appropriate response to France’s
ongoing intervention in the affairs of Muslims in North and West
Africa; its persecution of Muslim women in France via its ban on burqa
wearing; and the presence of 3,500 French troops in Afghanistan. Bin
Laden warned Paris that it is foolish to think France’s anti-Muslim
actions would go unanswered by al-Qaeda and other mujahideen. “The
equation is very clear and simple,” bin Laden said, stressing, as he
always does, the justice of reciprocal treatment in wartime. “[T]he
fault lies with the one who initiates [the hostilities]. . . . as you
kill, you will be killed; as you abduct, so shall you be abducted; as
you ruin our [Muslim] security, so shall we ruin your security.”

The new message is vintage bin Laden in several ways. With the United
States and Britain, France has always been high on al-Qaeda’s target
list because of its discriminatory treatment of French Muslims; its
support for the Algerian regime against the country’s insurgents; its
military aid to West African regimes; and its Afghanistan presence. In
addition, since 2006 bin Laden and al-Qaeda have highlighted their
intention to bring the jihad to the Niger-Nigeria –Gulf of Guinea area
to “liberate” Muslims there from the anti-Islamic policies that
European governments force their “agent regimes” in West Africa to
apply. And as he has argued regarding the Arab Peninsula’s energy
resources, bin Laden insists that West Africa’s oil, uranium and other
natural resources are the property of the Muslim ummah (community of
believers) and that the mujahideen intend to end the West’s control of
them.

While using familiar themes, the timing of bin Laden’s message is
meant to exploit several current realities favoring al-Qaeda and other
jihadis:

—France and most western European states are on high alert because of
credible intelligence that bin Laden has authorized Mumbai-like
attacks in their cities. With this threat already on the table, bin
Laden is trying to enhance fears among publics, politicians and
security services, and force them to continue high levels of
counterterrorism spending.

—Bin Laden intends the message to praise and spur on fighters who make
up al-Qaeda’s forces, and those of its allies, in North and West
Africa. The past few years have seen al-Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb
(AQIM) continue its insurgency in Algeria, as well as expand its
operational reach in Mauritania, Mali and elsewhere in West Africa. Al-
Qaeda also has gotten a pledge of loyalty from a growing Islamist
militant group in Nigeria known as Boko Haram. Bin Laden’s message
signals al-Qaeda’s support for these groups; stresses its intention to
continue inspiring jihadism in West Africa and across the continent;
and bears witness to al-Qaeda’s growing martial capabilities in West
Africa.

—Bin Laden also highlights NATO’s deteriorating position in
Afghanistan and reminds France and other NATO states that they will
all pay a price for occupying a Muslim country. This aspect of the
talk is fully in keeping with bin Laden’s quite successful post-9/11
effort to strip away countries from the coalitions Washington led into
Iraq and Afghanistan. In this message, he refers to the latter as
“Bush‘s accursed war.”

And while bin Laden does not focus on the United States in this
message, its release six days before the U.S. midterm elections is not
a coincidence. Bin Laden’s words are meant to remind U.S. voters that
he is still alive and al-Qaeda is quite viable; that the Obama
administration is, like Bush’s, losing the Afghan war; and that the war
—with the Iraq War—has pushed the United States to “the verge of
bankruptcy in all major areas, and soon it will go back beyond the
Atlantic Ocean, Allah willing.”

Less noticeable to the public, but surely most worrying to U.S. policy
makers is the message’s clear indication that al-Qaeda’s presence and
strength is growing in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea region, from which
America will be importing 20 percent of its crude in the next several
years.

Finally, for those who argue bin Laden is irrelevant, French Defense
Minister Hervé Morin unexpectedly said on October 28, 2010, that “our
troops may leave Afghanistan next year . . . we can transfer
responsibilities to the Afghans in 2011.” This positive (appeasing?)
response to bin Laden’s threat is even quicker than the Spanish
government’s cave-in after the Madrid bombings.

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The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of
animals as they now look on the murder of men. -Leonardo da Vinci,
painter, engineer, musician, and scientist (1452-1519)

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