Day: May 20, 2023

The 13th Regional Conference of Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in the Commonwealth of Africa held in Seychelles enabled its participants to discuss problems specific to each country, allowing the identification of common points of concern.

At the conference, which ended on Friday, May de Silva, the commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission of Seychelles, was confirmed as the new chairperson of the Association of the Commonwealth Africa Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa.

De Silva said in her statement at the closing ceremony, that “a problem Seychelles faces is the fact that we are isolated at times from mainland Africa and the Commonwealth Africa.”

She said that “However, our problem is similar when it comes to our fight against corruption. There is the same problem with funding, and getting financial forensic specialists We have seen that there are some differences as well when it comes to political will.”

The three-day conference, which kicked off on Monday at the Savoy Resort, was attended by representatives from Botswana, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia.

A series of priority areas were identified to be worked on.

“In our communique, we guarantee that we will face these challenges and we will reinforce the services that we offer. We will also bring this fight to another level. We will ensure that we share with each other the programmes that we see are innovative and have worked in other African Commonwealth countries and that we will also be able to use these models that they have and support each other,” said de Silva.

Anti-corruption agencies of Commonwealth Africa are seeking to increase youth education and public awareness of the impact, harm and cost of corruption as well as promote integrity and accountability in public office in the Seychelles Communique.

The communique also seeks to promote leadership, honesty, selflessness, and innovation, and to prove the quality of outgoing mutual legal assistance (MLA).

Member governments are also being asked to enact and implement effective legislation, open and transparent procedures on the declaration of assets of senior public officials supported by honest wealth provisions and civil assessment recovery for future measures.

The members agreed to engage international communities to strengthen collaboration in the fight against corruption, develop information-sharing and further engage citizens on corruption issues at local national, regional, and international levels.

The next regional conference of heads of anti-corruption agencies in Commonwealth Africa, in 2024, will take place in Ghana in partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Source: Seychelles News Agency

One billion people in 43 countries are at risk of cholera – a ‘pandemic killing the poor’ – despite prevention and treatment being relatively straightforward, the United Nations warned on Friday.

The most heavily affected countries so far this year are Malawi and Mozambique. Nine other countries are deemed to be in ‘acute crisis’: Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Syria, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The UN branded the outlook bleak, saying it did not have the resources to fight the outbreaks, and the longer it took to start waging the battle, the worse the situation would get.

Between the World Health Organization and the children’s agency Unicef, the UN is seeking $640 million to fight the infectious disease, warning of a ‘cholera catastrophe’ if action is not ramped up immediately.

‘WHO estimates that a billion people across 43 countries are at risk of cholera,’ said Henry Gray, the UN health agency’s incident manager for the global cholera response.

So far this year, 24 countries have reported cholera outbreaks, compared to 15 by mid-May last year.

Countries that are not usually affected by cholera are being affected and case fatality rates are far exceeding the typical one in 100.

Gray blamed the rise in cases on poverty, conflict and climate change, as well as the population displacements they trigger, which take people away from safer sources of food and water, and from medical support.

‘With the increase in the number of countries affected by cholera, the resources that were available for prevention and response are more thinly spread,’ he told a media briefing.

‘Wake-up call’

Cholera is contracted from a bacterium that is generally transmitted through contaminated food or water.

It causes diarrhea and vomiting, and can be especially dangerous for young children.

Jerome Pfaffmann Zambruni, the head of UNICEF’s public health emergency unit, said the rise in cases was ‘a wake-up call’.

‘There is a pandemic killing the poor right in front of us and we know exactly how to stop it, but we need more support and less inertia from the global community because if we don’t act now, it’s going to get worse,’ he said.

‘We know how to treat it. We know how to control it. It’s not easy but it’s simple.’

Although cholera can kill within hours, it can be treated with simple oral rehydration, and antibiotics for more severe cases.

But many people lack timely access to such treatment.

Outbreaks can be prevented by ensuring access to clean water and improving surveillance.

‘We won’t have enough, even with those numbers, if the current trend for cholera cases continues,’ said Gray.

Cholera cases steadily declined over 10 years but the trend reversed in 2021.

But the lack of funds for rapid response will cost lives that could have been saved, said Gray.

‘The overall solution is a long-term investment in wastewater infrastructure,’ he added.

Source: Somali National News Agency