Friday, November 13, 2009

H1n1 Usa

(High resolution version of this image for printing purposes available in "All Sizes") Africa's Expectations from Obama By Hany Besada (*) WITH the US administration marking its 100 days in office, Barack Obama has raised sky-scraping expectations for his term as president, not only at home in the US, but also abroad in Africa. The 44th American President is the first with an African lineage and, not surprisingly, his rise to power has triggered a wave of hope amongst Africans as they look towards the West in anticipation of new beginnings in US foreign policy and diplomatic relations. Examples of African reverence for Obama abound. Kenya has declared 5 November a national holiday in recognition of Obama's election. Parallels were drawn world-wide between Obama's inauguration ceremony in Washington earlier this year, as being eerily reminiscent in scale and scope of Nelson Mandela's inauguration as South Africa's first black president in 1994. Will President Barack Obama be able to deliver in accordance with the super-hero status that Africans are bestowing on him? In the coming months, Obama will be expected to address Africa's most pressing crises: Sudan's six-year conflict in Darfur continues unabated with UN forces being woefully understaffed and underfunded, despite former President Bush labeling it as "genocide"; Somalia has now been without a central government for 18 years and has lost more than one million people to civil conflict and famine; and the Democratic Republic of the Congo is struggling to end a five-year conflict with a death toll deemed the world's highest since World War II. And, of course, there are the longstanding issues across the continent of food security, corruption, access to clean water and basic health care, and the looming threat of climate change. There will be some tough decisions ahead in deciding on priorities and whether to drill down on development or security. If the President remains true to the objectives identified in his election campaign, then three items could be expected on his African agenda: accelerate Africa's integration into the global economy; enhance peace and security in Africa; and strengthen relations with African governments to deepen democracy and accountability. Already, Obama is making strides towards building good relations with Africa. In recent weeks, the President has surrounded himself with top African advisers —foremost amongst them is the appointment of Susan Rice, former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in the Clinton administration, to the post of UN Ambassador. Obama had been in touch with South Africa's former interim President Kaglema Motlanthe about the ongoing political crisis in Zimbabwe. But there are a number of factors working against him. No doubt the President's first loyalty is to serve the needs and heed the priorities of the American people and, as the global financial crisis persists, his ability to deliver on foreign priorities above domestic ones will become increasingly constrained. Some critics even go as far as saying that it would be difficult for Obama to leave the kind of African legacy that his predecessor did given the many other foreign policy priorities of the day, notably Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East crisis among others. With all the domestic failures and foreign policy blunders that undermined his creditability while in office, earning him the lowest approval rating in recent memory, former US President George Bush could confidently point to his widely deserved and often ignored achievements in Africa. The Bush administration devoted major attention in recent years to supporting Africa's battle to contain the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the devastating effects of malaria. His President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar), described as a revolution, in the sense that it radically altered the administration of healthcare on the continent, has been described as the largest ever global initiative dedicated to tackling a single disease. Since 2003, it provided $15 billion ( $10 billion in new money) to fund desperately needed drugs to more than 1.4 million people who would not have been able to afford them. This has had a tremendous impact on increasing access to AIDS treatment on the African continent. Under the Bush administration, aid to Africa increased to more than $5.6 billion in 2008, from $1.3 billion in 2001. Bush introduced a less bureaucratic Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), targeted at a select group of countries. Using a 16-point indicator, this bilateral development aid fund is aimed at countries that satisfy various criteria, pertaining to free-market economic policies, democratic governance and anti-corruption reforms. Supporters point out that all of these were instrumental in ushering in a new level in African-US relations, namely one based on investment and trade, rather than on aid alone. In any event, it is unhelpful to speculate as to whether Obama will match Bush's achievements in Africa and meet the enormous expectations of Africans over the coming period. Time will tell as to how Africa will come to judge the Obama administration. What is certain, however, is that Africa is too important to be ignored. The continent is slowly attempting to improve it efforts to govern itself; to resolve internal disputes, distrust, and grievances; to usher in political pluralism; and to integrate economically within the global economy. The US cannot afford to continue confining Africa to the realm of its lowest priorities, while failing to take note of all the progress and achievements of the past decade, which countries such as China and India have either taken full advantage of, or taken part in. There is no better time than the present for the US to assure Africa of its full commitment to playing a more active and constructive role in the continent's rapid transformation and development. (*) Hany Besada is Senior Researcher and Program Leader at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in Waterloo, Canada. -------------- --> This article appeared on www.talkzimbabwe.com

CDC 2009 H1N1 Flu  Use of Tamiflu and Relenza for treatment or prevention of H1N1 flu... for Disease Control and Prevention 1600 Clifton Rd. Atlanta, GA 30333, USA ...

Pandemic Flu.gov  One-stop access to U.S. Government H1N1, avian and pandemic flu information. ... Addresses Nation's Doctors on H1N1 Vaccine ... USA.gov. GobiernoUSA.gov ...

CDC H1N1 Flu | Situation Update  2009 H1N1 in Animals. Info for Specific Groups. Health Care Providers ... for Disease Control and Prevention 1600 Clifton Rd. Atlanta, GA 30333, USA ...

File:H1N1 USA deaths - CSS map.svg - Wikipedia, the free ...  File:H1N1 USA Map by confirmed deaths.svg. This file qualifies for speedy deletion. ... source en:Wikipedia talk:Images for upload/svg/H1N1 USA deaths - CSS map.svg/2) ...

File:H1N1 USA Map.svg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia  H1N1 USA Map.svg. English: Map of the United States showing 2009 Swine Flu outbreak. ... File talk:H1N1 USA Map June.png. 2009 flu pandemic in North America ...

Feds drop 'swine flu,' for 'H1N1 flu' - USATODAY.com  ... referred to the new flu strain as H1N1 flu. Concerned that the term swine flu is ... Oink oink: USA will wash its hands of swine flu humor when pigs fly ...

H1N1- Ultimate News on influenza A - bird flu, swine flu ...  Great articles from Recombinomics : The week 17 CDC report on seasonal flu in ... anjanettec on H1N1 USA : PandemicTamiflu Resistance in North Carolina Summer Campers ...

H1N1 Virus Blog  ... Drug Resistant H1N1 Flu. HNN Huntingtonnews.net – WV, USA ... A dozen San Joaquin County inmates test positive for H1N1 virus. San Jose Mercury News – CA, USA ...


Truth is coming out. Thousands will die unnecessarily. WAKEY WAKEY PEOPLEAs swine flu continues to spread across the world, so do theories about its origin. US investigative journalist Wayne Madsen says he's gathering more and more evidence that the H1N1 virus started out in a lab.Thanks Axis !

France 24 | US reports second swine flu death | France 24  ... have announced a second death from the new H1N1 flu virus, while Mexico protested curbs on its citizens ... INFLUENZA A (H1N1) - Mexico - USA. React (4) ...

USA reports " GLEaMviz.org  New H1N1 Flu Projections: First USA report with containment/mitigation measures implemented. ... New H1N1 flu projections: second USA detailed report April 30th, 2009 ...

No comments:

Post a Comment