African climate activists fight online surveillance

23 February 2023 - BY KIM HARRISBERG

Online climate activism is on the rise in Africa - a continent that draws mining and oil companies to its rich mineral reserves. File picture
Image: Sandile Ndlovu

When Tanzanian climate activists posed as delivery couriers to get into energy firm TotalEnergies' Dar es Salaam office and hand over a placard against a new oil pipeline, they were so fearful of reprisals they had a getaway car waiting.

"We asked (a secretary) to take it to the person in charge, and then we left right away because it could be super dangerous. That's how we do our work here," said Rehema Peter, founder of the Tanzanian Partnership for Green Future climate group.

That same fear has led the group to do much of their work online, with climate activists in Tanzania and beyond turning to strategies from anonymised digital petitions to secure messaging apps to speak out safely.

"Activists have to be strategic about protesting ... or you may find you disappear or are put in prison," said Peter, citing the unsolved 2017 disappearance of investigative journalist Azory Gwanda as an example.

The Tanzanian government and police service did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Online climate activism is on the rise in Africa - a continent that draws mining and oil companies to its rich mineral reserves.

Tanzania tightened control of the media and civil society after the election of former President John Magufuli in 2015, whose administration shut down newspapers, arrested opposition leaders and activists, and restricted political rallies.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who came to office after Magufuli died in March 2021, lifted a six-year bar in January on opposition political rallies and protests, and lifted bans on four newspapers under a programme of reforms.

"We are still nervous about our rights being protected," said Peter.

"Things don't change that quickly."

OIL PIPELINE CAMPAIGN

The placard protest at TotalEnergies in May 2022 was part of an international campaign against the proposed East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), which would ship crude from Lake Albert in Uganda to a port on Tanzania's Indian Ocean coast.

Development groups say the Ugandan oil fields development it will serve will generate 34 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually, with an estimated 14,000 households at risk of losing their land.

TotalEnergies, the biggest shareholder, did not immediately respond to emailed questions.

TotalEnergies has said on its website that the project is consistent with its environmental commitments, and it will create a net positive impact on biodiversity by limiting the oil development's footprint and investing in conservation projects.

The Tanzanian Partnership for Green Future worked with U.S.-based climate campaign group 350.org to gather almost 10,000 names on a petition opposing EACOP.

With many Tanzanians wary of speaking out, 350.org collected supporters' details but did not make them public, instead simply displaying a tally of the total number who had signed up.

"If we are strategic about protecting identities then the online space can give us safety and support," said Peter.

DIGITAL PRIVACY TOOLKITS

As activism grows online, so does surveillance.

The Freedom on the Net 2022 report by U.S.-based nonprofit Freedom House found 11 out of 70 countries it examined had introduced measures to increase online surveillance or reduce anonymity last year.

Internet users in 53 nations were arrested, imprisoned or detained for political or social content, it said.

A survey of about 50 climate activists by tech rights charity Privacy International last year found that all agreed tech was essential to their work, but 59% believed their online activity had been subject to surveillance.

In response, the survey lead Laura Lazaro Cabrera created an online guide to help activists avoid being spied on.

The tips include restricting personal information shared online, using secure phone messaging apps such as Signal that encrypt message data, and using two-factor authentication to protect against hacks.

Users can also use virtual private networks (VPNs) – an encrypted connection that shields the user's identity – to access blocked websites and browse anonymously.

Activists should avoid revealing their location online through hashtags and photos, the guide advised, including through photo data that is often uploaded together with images.

"Even as the surveillance tools become ever more sophisticated ... people are catching up," said Cabrera.

'IT'S IMPORTANT TO SHARE THESE STORIES'

In Uganda, environmental groups are also taking steps to protect their online security as they take to the internet to protest.

Climate campaigners say they are being targeted under laws governing NGOs and public meetings under a tightly-controlled system led by President Yoweri Museveni since 1986.

Last year the government suspended the operations of dozens of NGOs including climate groups, and police have arrested environmental activists protesting the EACOP pipeline.

The Ugandan police force did not respond to requests for comment, but a spokesman for the internal affairs ministry has previously denied allegations that the government is attempting to "stifle climate activists".

Edwin Mumbere, the founder of Center for Citizens Conserving the Environment and Management (CECIC) charity, said they use VPNs to protect themselves from being surveilled online.

"Mostly it is difficult to prove when you are spied on. But we know it is happening. Sometimes during phone calls we hear third party background noise and we know our phones are being tapped," he said.

The group uses social media to share interviews they have carried out with people impacted by mining, pollution, overfishing and EACOP expansion plans – but will often not include their name or face in the recordings, he said.

When visiting those communities they temporarily exit group chats that may be infiltrated, and use encrypted messaging service Signal to share location details with trusted allies who can raise the alarm if something goes wrong, he said.

Despite the risks, he said online platforms are a key part of their campaigning.

"It's important to share these stories online so that other people can know what's really happening," he said.

Originally published on: https://www.context.news/surveillance/african-climate-activists-fight-online-surveillance

-Thomson Reuters Foundation

Turkiye Antakya turns into a ghost city after third quake


A view of collapsed buildings after 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes hit multiple provinces of Turkiye and Syria, on February 21, 2023 [Bekir Kasım]

February 22, 2023 

Trucks, emergency vehicles and excavators lined the desolate streets of Turkiye's Antakya, Tuesday night, after the third major earthquake in two weeks accelerated an exodus from the once-lively city, Reuters reports.

In the pitch-black streets, passing headlights revealed mounds of rubble, frames of broken windows and entangled rebar. Red and blue flashing lights from military and police vehicles reflected off the jagged facades of slanted buildings.

The sound of excavators clawing out debris echoed through the streets as police, soldiers and disaster responders looked on, clustered around small fires dotting the cracked sidewalks. Occasionally, the digging would stop for emergency workers to inspect for possible bodies.

"Everyone is gone," said Mehmet Ay, a 50-year-old survivor of the quakes who has been living in Antakya his entire life, and is one of the few residents who have remained.

"They have either died or have fled."

From a distance, the sharp cityscape of what used to be tall buildings now appeared crenulated. Chunks of the riverbanks were collapsed into the water, while soldiers blocked off damaged bridges.

Billboards were smashed into the ground and the scattered signage among the rubble stood as reminders of the shops that used to fill the busy streets.

"Our streets used to be paradise," said Ay. "In a single night, everything was destroyed."

READ: Fears come true as Turkiye Antakya shaken by third violent earthquake

Ay was sheltering with his wife, Fatmeh, and their daughter in one of the camps set up to provide temporary shelter to those who lost their homes. A generator roared over the chatter of people gathered around wood stoves outside their tents.

"We can't leave the camp," he said. "It's difficult to walk around because it's dangerous anywhere you go. The buildings are dangerous. Before you know it, a structure can collapse on you."

Earlier, as the sun set over a square next to the city hall, soldiers, volunteers and survivors lined up at food trucks and service stations for dinner and tea.

At a roundabout, a statue of modern Turkiye's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, on a rearing horse was still standing. Just below it, a marble plaque with his famous quote on Hatay province becoming part of Turkiye lay shattered on the ground.

"The disaster fell on all of us," said Saleem Fawakirji, a 57-year-old dishwasher who has been living in Antakya for 12 years, after fleeing Syria. "The rich and poor alike," added his wife, Walaa.

The couple, their two daughters and a son survived the 6 February quake by crawling out of a small crack in the rubble. Their eldest son did not make it.

Fawakirji said the family had no plans to abandon the deserted city. "Look how God granted all of us another life, except for my son. Why take the risk now?" he said.

Ay also said he planned to remain.

"It will take a long time, it will take years – but we will rebuild it," said Ay, a construction worker.

"God willing, it will be better than it used to be."

READ: 'How can that be?' – Man sticks to vigil after hunt for relatives in Turkiye quake ruins called off

WHO using Syria sanctions pause to ship in health supplies

A massive 7.8-magnitude tremor on February 6 has killed more than 42,000 people in Turkiye and more than 3,600 in Syria, while the WHO said more than 125,000 have been injured. — AFP pic

Thursday, 23 Feb 2023 1:45 PM MYT

GENEVA, Feb 23 — The World Health Organisation (WHO) said today it was taking advantage of a post-earthquake pause in sanctions to move badly needed health supplies and equipment into war-torn Syria.

The WHO said it was capitalising on the chance brought about by the suspending of sanctions to carry out some rapid procurement and revitalise Syria’s shattered health services.

The UN health agency called on Syria’s warring factions to see the earthquake as an opportunity to end the civil war for good.

The massive 7.8-magnitude tremor on February 6 has killed more than 42,000 people in Turkiye and more than 3,600 in Syria, while the WHO said more than 125,000 have been injured.

Damascus has been hit by more than a decade of economic sanctions, and while they were not designed to impede aid, they were blamed by some for the slow arrival of assistance after the quake.

The United States has since temporarily lifted some sanctions, hoping to ensure that aid moves as quickly as possible to those affected.

“WHO is moving very rapidly right now, together with our partners, to take advantage of this pause in the sanctions,” Richard Brennan, the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean regional emergency director, told a press conference.

“We have already started ordering equipment and supplies and we are working with UN partners on a collective approach to take advantage of the pause,” he said from Gaziantep in southern Turkiye, having returned from northern Syria.

Medicines, vaccines, X-ray machines and surgical tools were needed, he added.

“We will be moving very rapidly to do the procurement, capitalising on this important opportunity that we have.”

Four planes filled with supplies have flown into Syria since the earthquake.

‘Hell’

The Syrian conflict started in 2011 with President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal repression of peaceful protests, and escalated to pull in multiple foreign powers and global jihadists.

Nearly half a million people have been killed, and the conflict has forced around half of Syria’s pre-war population from their homes.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on the warring factions to use the earthquake as a chance to come together and resolve the civil war.

“Warring parties now should use this earthquake as an opportunity to talk to each other and bring a political solution,” he said.

“The Syrians actually believe that the earthquake is a lesser evil. It’s another evil but a lesser evil compared to the 12 years of conflict, but not only that: the displacement, the economic meltdown.

“Anybody can see through what kind of hell the Syrian people are passing.”

He said seven hospitals and 145 health facilities in Syria have been damaged, many in the northwest.

In Turkiye, at least 15 hospitals had been damaged, with many health facilities also affected.

“WHO calls on the global community to support the response and provide hope to those who are grieving, traumatised and fearful about the future,” Tedros said. — AFP

When men won't 'get dirty', Nicaraguan women dig for cockles

Issued on: 23/02/2023 

Aserradores (Nicaragua) (AFP) – From a young age, Elena Martinez and other female residents of Aserradores, a small fishing community in eastern Nicaragua, learn to navigate the dense mangrove forest to extract a black mollusc from deep under the mud.

Every few days, they leave home at dawn to row about two kilometers (1.2 miles) in a fishing boat to the mangroves, where they crawl through gnarly branches knee-deep in mud, digging for the delicacy by hand.

While keeping food on the table, the women also help conserve the mangrove forest -- a natural barrier that harbors countless animal species and protects coastal settlements from floods, tidal waves and hurricane winds.

It is hard, back-breaking work that leaves the women covered in mud from head to toe. But 40-year-old Martinez and her companions laugh and joke as they go about the task of finding mangrove cockles.

The molluscs are a delicacy with reputed aphrodisiac powers © OSWALDO RIVAS / AFP

In several hours they each gather a small pile of the mollusc known to science as Anadara tuberculosa -- some for home consumption, but most to sell in town.

The cockle is a popular menu item in Nicaragua and famed for purported aphrodisiac qualities.

Restaurants can resell a dozen cockles for as much as 120 cordobas (about $3.30), but the women only get about a quarter to a sixth of that price.

"Only women" do this job "because men don't like to get dirty, they don't like to get scratched" by the mangrove branches, said Martinez.

"We have to do it because of our children, for our children's studies. We have to find a way to feed them," she explained.

The men of Aserradores make a living mainly from fishing for the table and to sell. But the fish are getting fewer.

'We plant, we reforest'

The work of Martinez and her colleagues is also important for conservation.

While digging for cockles in the Aserradores estuary more than 150 kilometers (93 miles) northwest of Managua, they deposit seedlings provided by environmental authorities and NGOs to repopulate the mangrove forest.

The women row 2km every few days to the mangrove to harvest cockles to sell © OSWALDO RIVAS / AFP

"What we do is protect the mangrove... we plant, we reforest," said Martinez as she deftly dug into the mud, removed a cockle, and placed it in a bag hanging from her waist.

"It is for our own sake, that of our children and the rest" of the community, she said.

Martinez was 10 when she first started to gather cockles, at a time the finite nature of the resource was not appreciated, she said.

"Growing up, I did not consider how valuable it was... we took large amounts of shells without thinking that maybe one day they will run out and we won't have anything with which to sustain our children."

Martinez is a mother of three youngsters in their twenties engaged in fishing.

Restaurants can resell a dozen cockles for as much as 120 cordobas (about $3.30), but the women only get about a quarter to a sixth of that price © OSWALDO RIVAS / AFP

Juana Izquierdo, 50, recalls that as a child, the cockles were so plentiful she scooped them up from the surface of the mud but over the years, "they started decreasing because there were more collectors."

Nowadays, she returns smaller cockles to the mud to grow, "to protect and save our mangrove."

About 100 women in the municipality of El Viejo, which includes Aserradores, are involved in cockle harvesting and mangrove reforestation.

"We work three days and rest three or four days, then we return," said Izquierdo.

"We support our family. In the sea, sometimes they catch fish, sometimes not, sometimes the poor things (men) only earn enough for fuel. And since we row, we don't spend anything on fuel, we just spend our energy," she said.

© 2023 AFP

Ocasio-Cortez Says It’s ‘Critical’ Japan Moves Forward with LGBTQ Rights

Congresswoman speaks in interview during first trip to Asia

Japan is the only G-7 nation without LGBTQ legal protections

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Photographer: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Isabel Reynolds
February 22, 2023 

US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pressed her Japanese counterparts to move forward on LGBTQ rights ahead of the Group of Seven summit in May, even as she praised the country’s investment in infrastructure.

“I believe as a collective in the G-7 it’s important to send a message about what precisely aligns these countries,” the New York Democrat told Bloomberg News. “In that context, I think it’s critical that Japan takes steps to move toward recognition of LGBT communities broadly, not just marriage equality.”

Japan is preparing to host the G-7 summit of advanced democracies in May as the only member not to recognize same-sex marriage or legally protect LGBTQ rights amid stiff debate on the issue.

At last year’s summit in Germany, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida signed a G-7 communique affirming “shared values” with the other members and committing to “ensuring that everyone – independent of their gender identity or expression or sexual orientation — has the same opportunities and is protected against discrimination and violence.”

Japan’s parliament is currently wrestling over a bill to “promote understanding” of LGBTQ issues, though some conservatives oppose a clause saying that discrimination shouldn’t be allowed. Numerous polls show a majority of the public is in favor of allowing same-sex marriage, however.

“The United States and Japan’s shared commitment to the democratic principles of freedom, equality, and diversity must extend to LGBTQ individuals,” Congressman Mark Takano, the leader of the delegation, added in an email to Bloomberg, urging Japan’s parliament to consider legislation swiftly.

The first openly gay person of color to be elected to Congress, Takano is a co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus.


The group met with senior members of Kishida’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, including Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara, former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and trade minister Yasutoshi Nishimura.

Ocasio-Cortez raved about Japan’s infrastructure after traveling on the shinkansen high-speed rail network, a trip she shared with her 8.6 million followers on Instagram.

“It is so critically important that the US begin serious investments in high-speed rail and I believe it’s critically important that those investments be federally led,” she said.

She was echoing remarks by US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, who has often eschewed the armored BMW that comes with his office to take the train. He has spoken of high-speed rail as an opportunity for US-Japan economic collaboration.

Ocasio-Cortez and the congressional delegation also visited Fukushima, the site of the devastating 2011 nuclear disaster, and will be traveling with Japanese lawmakers to Seoul for trilateral talks with their South Korean counterparts later in the week, she said.

— With assistance by Shoko Oda

READ MORE:
Japan’s PM Meets LGBTQ Groups Amid Pressure for Protections
Japan Ruling Party Flips on LGBTQ Bill After Gaffe by PM Aide
Gay Couple Wins ‘Landmark’ Health Insurance Case in South Korea
Rahm Emanuel’s Train Diplomacy Scores Diplomatic Win in Japan

WAR CHILD

Toll Of Conflict In Eastern Ukraine Leads To Increased Aggression, Anxiety, And Substance Abuse In Children

Thursday, 23 February 2023
Press Release: World Vision

One year since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, anxiety, addiction and violence are on the rise among children, with new research revealing the devastating consequences of the conflict on young people.

A survey of more than 450 children aged between nine and 17 found that four out of five children were “extremely concerned” about their safety, with a third listing violence as one of their top three worries.

The research was conducted by international aid agency, World Vision and its Ukrainian partner Arms of Mercy, in three of the most conflict-affected regions in the east of the country, Kherson, Kharkiv, and Dnipro.

World Vision’s Director for the Ukraine Crisis Response, Chris Palusky, says addiction issues are of particular concern.

“Even before the escalation of conflict last February, almost one in five children in Eastern Ukraine were smoking or using synthetic drugs as they coped with the constant stress of the ongoing political situation which resulted in violence, displacement and separated families.

“However, the reliance on cigarettes and other drugs is now on the rise. Our survey found that almost 80% of teen boys now think that their peers have turned to smoking and other drugs to cope. This is extremely alarming,” he says.

Since February 2022, the situation in Ukraine has rapidly deteriorated. Almost 54 civilians have been killed or injured every day1, and more than 17 million people in Ukraine need urgent humanitarian assistance.2 Many children have lost their homes or have had to move to safer places.

Other key highlights from the research include:

• Nearly half of children surveyed said their home had suffered some form of damage
• One in five children said their peers were using violence as a coping mechanism
• More than half said children were using smoking and other addictions as a coping mechanism; this rises to 77% for boys aged 14-17
• A third of children said the threat of violence was one of their top three worries
• Eight out of ten children said safety was one of their top three worries.

World Vision New Zealand director, Grant Bayldon, says tragically a future of mental health problems likely awaits many of this young generation of Ukrainians.

“Children are struggling to cope with trauma piled on top of trauma. Based on the experiences of other children and families affected by conflict, we can expect that more than 1.5 million children in Ukraine may develop depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder or schizophrenia as a result of their experiences during the war,”3 he says.

Bayldon says World Vision staff who are working to provide support to young Ukrainians report changes in the way children behave.

“In addition to increased substance abuse, our staff and partners tell us that children are increasingly fearful and struggle to contain their emotions.

“One in five children say their peers are turning to physical violence as a coping mechanism. They want to take revenge on others as they see relatives hurt by shelling, parents away on the frontlines, and it all feels desperately unjust.”

Palusky says further stress is heaped on families as they suffer the economic consequences of the conflict, and cannot afford the things they used to.

He says education, so crucial for providing a sense of normality for young people, is all but impossible for many in Ukraine.

“Frequent power outages and air alarms are keeping many children out of school as they struggle to connect to online classes from bunkers.

"Restoring a sense of normalcy for children is crucial and all parties to the conflict must respect and uphold committments to international humanitarian and human rights law. Without peace, children in Ukraine will continue to pay a severe mental, as well as physical, toll.”

Bayldon says New Zealanders have played their part to help provide a sense of normal life for children who have fled Ukraine for Romania with an education and mental health programme.

World Vision New Zealand, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, is jointly funding the programme which will support more than 7,000 children.

1. https://www.ohchr.org/en/news/2023/02/ukraine-civilian-casualty-update-6-february-2023

2. https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukraine-humanitarian-needs-overview-2023-december-2022-enuk

3. https://www.wvi.org/publications/report/emergencies/no-peace-mind

4. https://www.wvi.org/publications/report/ukraine/december-2022-ucr-situation-report-we-have-reached-613393-people

© Scoop Media

Love of sea turtles turns Philippine poachers into protectors

FEBRUARY 06, 2023

Baby olive ridley sea turtles make their way to the sea, in San Juan, La Union, Philippines, Dec 20, 2022.
Reuters file

AsiaOne has launched EarthOne, a new section dedicated to environmental issues — because we love the planet and we believe science. Find articles like this there.

---

LA UNION, Philippines — Armed with a wooden stick, a bucket and a headlamp, Philippine construction worker Johnny Manlugay hunts every night for the eggs of sea turtles on the pristine beaches of the northern province of La Union.

The 55-year-old can easily spot nesting sites, having been trained in his youth by his grandfather how to track the animals and their eggs, which his family traded at the time or ate.

But his egg-stealing days are over. Now Manlugay has turned his skills to helping protect marine turtles on the provincial beaches favoured by the endangered Olive Ridley species to build nesting sites.

Sea turtle patroller Johnny Manlugay, 55, who used to hunt and is now using his skills to help marine turtle conservation, digs up a nest with eggs to turn over to Curma's hatchery in San Juan, La Union, Philippines, Dec 20, 2022.
PHOTO: Reuters

"I've learnt to love this work," said Manlugay, who was accompanied by his two dogs. "We didn't know poaching was illegal and that we should not eat turtle eggs and meat."

He carefully transferred each egg into his pail, along with some sand from the turtle nests, to be turned over to the group spearheading a conservation programme on the beaches, Coastal Underwater Resource Management Actions (Curma).

All five species of sea turtles found in the Philippine archipelago — Green, Hawksbill, Loggerhead, Leatherback, and Olive Ridley — are endangered.

Slaughtered for their eggs, meat and shells, the turtles, or "pawikan" as they are called, also face threats from trade, hunting, habitat loss and climate change.

But the conservation effort established in 2009 has transformed sea turtle poachers into allies, offering incentives and training to help save thousands of turtles and keep their eggs from ending up in markets and on plates.

Baby olive ridley sea turtles are gathered in a basin minutes after being born at Curma's hatchery in San Juan, La Union, Philippines, Jan 12, 2023.

PHOTO: Reuters

"We talked to the poachers, and it turned out poaching was just another means for them to earn a living," said Carlos Tamayo, the programme's director of operations. "They had no choice."

Sea turtles lay 100 eggs to a nest on average, while the numbers of nests range between 35 and 40 each season, which runs from October to February.

Tamayo added that the figure had doubled during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic. At a time when disease curbs kept people indoors, there was a rebound in many aspects of animal activity.

"Last season alone, for example, we had 75 nests and we released close to 9,000 hatchlings," Tamayo said.

Volunteers receive 20 pesos (S$0.49) for each egg collected, or four times what they might earn from selling them. The eggs are transferred to the programme's hatchery to be reburied in protected areas.

Former poacher Jessie Cabagbag, who grew up eating turtle meat and eggs, said the extra income from egg collection went a long way for his family, which relies mainly on fishing for its livelihood.

Curma's operations director Carlos Tamayo, 44, takes a basin full of baby olive ridley turtles to the beach to be released into the sea in San Juan, La Union, Dec 20, 2022.
PHOTO: Reuters

"The incentives help us pay for our food and electricity bill. When I got lucky, I was able to save and use it to buy a tricyle which I use (to ferry passengers) when I could not go out to fish, so that's another source of income," he added.

Cabagbag, whose wife and seven-year-old son accompany him in patrolling the La Union beach of Bacnotan, has handed more than 1,000 eggs to Curma since October.

"I stopped poaching when we underwent training and were taught that what we have been doing was illegal, and that these species of turtles are endangered," said the 40-year-old.

Tourists flock to the spectacle of the blue-grey hatchlings scurrying madly down the sloping beach to reach the water after they are released.

The event inspired overwhelming joy in Cabagbag, he said.

"I am truly proud. Even our neighbours, they appreciate what I do, because it is not easy. I am happy that I get to contribute to the conservation of the 'pawikan'."

ALSO READ: Drone thermal imaging captures rare turtle laying eggs in Thailand

‘Shockingly dangerous’: WHO raises alarm on pregnancy risks

UN health agency says one woman dies every two minutes during pregnancy or childbirth mostly from treatable conditions.

UN says not enough women get the checkups they need when they are pregnant

 [Christophe Archambault/AFP]

Published On 23 Feb 2023

The World Health Organization (WHO) says one woman dies every two minutes during pregnancy or childbirth, according to the latest data, with too few countries in the world managing to substantially reduce maternal death rates since 2016.

The report, Trends in Maternal Mortality, showed that while there was significant progress in reducing maternal deaths between 2000 and 2015, those gains stalled or were even reversed in the five years to 2020.

“While pregnancy should be a time of immense hope and a positive experience for all women, it is tragically still a shockingly dangerous experience for millions around the world who lack access to high quality, respectful health care,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement on Thursday.

“These new statistics reveal the urgent need to ensure every woman and girl has access to critical health services before, during and after childbirth, and that they can fully exercise their reproductive rights.”

The report, which tracks maternal deaths nationally, regionally and globally from 2000 to 2020, showed that in two of the eight United Nations regions – Europe and Northern America, and Latin America and the Caribbean – the maternal mortality rate increased from 2016 to 2020, by 17 percent and 15 percent, respectively. Elsewhere, the rate stagnated.

Two regions did make progress. In Australia and New Zealand, the maternal death rate dropped by 35 percent, while in Southern Asia it fell by 16 percent.

“For millions of families, the miracle of childbirth is marred by the tragedy of maternal deaths,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in the statement. “No mother should have to fear for her life while bringing a baby into the world, especially when the knowledge and tools to treat common complications exist. Equity in healthcare gives every mother, no matter who they are or where they are, a fair chance at a safe delivery and a healthy future with their family.”

Severe bleeding, high blood pressure, pregnancy-related infections, complications from unsafe abortion, and underlying conditions that can be aggravated by pregnancy (such as HIV/AIDS and malaria) were the leading causes of maternal deaths, the report said, noting that such conditions were largely preventable and treatable.

In total numbers, maternal deaths continue to be largely concentrated in the poorest parts of the world and in countries affected by conflict.

In 2020, about 70 percent of all maternal deaths were in southern parts of Africa, while in nine countries facing severe humanitarian crises, maternal mortality rates were more than double the world average (551 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, compared with 223 per 100,000 live births globally).

The UN said more needed to be done to support women’s health by increasing funding to healthcare systems, training more specialised healthcare workers such as midwives, and improving supply chains for key medical supplies.

About a third of women do not have even four of the recommended eight antenatal checks or receive essential postnatal care, while some 270 million women do not have access to modern family planning methods, the report said. COVID-19 might also have held back progress on maternal health, it added, but said more work needed to be done to show the effect of the pandemic.

United Nations Population Fund Executive Director Natalia Kanem said it was “unacceptable” that so many women continued to die needlessly in pregnancy and childbirth.

“Over 280,000 fatalities in a single year is unconscionable,” she said. “We can and must do better. We have the tools, knowledge and resources to end preventable maternal deaths; what we need now is the political will.”

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

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Most parts of world saw maternal mortality rates spike in 2020

FEBRUARY 22, 2023

Most deaths were largely concentrated in the poorest parts of the world, and in countries affected by conflict.

The Straits Times

Maternal mortality rates climbed or stagnated in nearly all regions across the world in 2020, according to a report released by UN agencies on Wednesday (Feb 22), marking a major setback in global efforts to combat complications during childbirth or pregnancy.

The report, which tracks maternal mortality nationally, regionally and globally from 2000 to 2020, showed there were an estimated 287,000 maternal deaths worldwide in 2020, and it marks only a slight decrease from 309,000 in 2016.

That translates to a woman dying every two minutes during childbirth or pregnancy, the report estimated.

"It is unacceptable that so many women continue to die needlessly in pregnancy and childbirth. Over 280,000 fatalities in a single year is unconscionable," said Natalia Kanem, executive director at the United Nations Population Fund.

The data suggests that deaths rose in areas with less access to timely health services, said study author and World Health Organisation epidemiologist Jenny Cresswell.

In two of the eight UN regions – Europe and Northern America, and Latin America and the Caribbean – the maternal mortality rate increased from 2016 to 2020, by 17 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively.

The report, however, noted there was a significant reduction in maternal deaths between 2000 and 2015, where they fell roughly 2.7 per cent every year, but the progress largely stalled or even reversed after a point.

Most deaths were largely concentrated in the poorest parts of the world, and in countries affected by conflict.

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North Korean infant mortality surges to 3.3 per cent

Cresswell said the global mortality rates have been "effectively zero" in the first five years since the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) came into effect.

The SDGs aim to reduce maternal deaths to 70 per 100,000 live births globally by 2030.

The 2020 rate was estimated at 223 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.

The Covid-19 pandemic may have further held back progress, according to the UN agencies.

But "the trends that we're seeing have been occurring for five or six years at least, so they do predate the pandemic by several years," said Cresswell.

Once tortured by criminals, Mexico 'survivor' dog looks to win top pet contest

FEBRUARY 22, 2023

A rescued dog named Pay de Limon (Lemon Pie), walks wearing his two front prosthetic legs at Milagros Caninos, in Xochimilco, Mexico City, Mexico on Feb 21, 2023.
Reuters

MEXICO CITY - Running around on his new prosthetic legs, a Mexican pup once tortured by criminal groups is now living the dog dream, adored by his adopted caretakers and even a finalist for the title of America's favourite pet.

Rescued as a one-year-old with his front limbs destroyed, Pay de Limon (Lemon Pie) found much-needed love at the Milagros Caninos sanctuary, a shelter south of Mexico City, which says he is thriving 12 years later.

"He is a survivor of human cruelty and organised crime groups," Patricia Ruiz, founder of Milagros Caninos, told Reuters.

"He doesn't hold a grudge against anyone. Humans hold grudges. Dogs don't."

Found abandoned in a dumpster in Mexico's central Zacatecas state, a hotbed for cartels and organised crime, Lemon Pie was later transported to the safety of the shelter in the capital.

Now, he is ready to take a shot in the online contest for Americans' most dashing dog, albeit a non-native contestant.

The contest, America's Favourite Pet, is open to pets on the American continent and runs as part of a charity fundraiser.

The contest's winner, to be announced in March, will secure a US$5,000 (S$6,700) cash prize and get the chance to model in a two-page spread in Dogster magazine.

Ruiz says the dog's journey teaches "all of us to say 'yes you can', to say 'yes to life', despite everything. No matter what happens to you."

Biden and Trump spar over East Palestine train disaster in US

Labour groups have said cost-cutting measures by railroad companies have occurred under Democrats and Republicans.

Workers continue to clean up remaining tanker cars from a trail derailment in East Palestine, Ohio [Matt Freed/AP Photo]

Published On 23 Feb 202323 Feb 2023

United States President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have traded accusations following the derailment of a train carrying toxic materials in the town of East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month.

Speaking during a visit to the town on Wednesday, Trump said the residents had experienced a “great betrayal” and accused the Biden administration of failing to mount a robust response after the February 3 accident spurred fears of air and water contamination.

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The Biden administration hit back, pointing out that, during Trump’s tenure, the government rolled back regulatory standards requiring trains carrying hazardous materials to be equipped with more sophisticated brake systems.

“Congressional Republicans and former Trump administration officials owe East Palestine an apology for selling them out to rail industry lobbyists when they dismantled Obama-Biden rail safety protections,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said on Wednesday, referring to steps taken during the administration of Democrat Barack Obama, under whom Biden served as vice president.

Trump and Biden could square off against each other in the 2024 presidential election if they are both selected as the nominee for their respective party. Trump launched his campaign in November.

While Biden has yet to declare his candidacy, he is seen as the likely candidate for the Democratic Party. Trump, meanwhile, is being challenged for the nomination in the Republican Party by candidates like Nikki Haley, the former US envoy to the United Nations, though Trump still holds substantial influence among the party’s voters.

During his visit to East Palestine, Trump said the town had been shown “indifference and betrayal” after the train derailment, which prompted evacuation orders for hundreds of residents.

The Biden administration has defended its response, stating that government entities including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Transportation Safety Board arrived at the crash site within hours.

On February 8, the state government said in a press release that residents could “safely return home”.

“I’m asking they trust the government,” EPA administrator Michael Regan said during a visit last week. “I know that’s hard. We know there’s a lack of trust.”

The EPA has said that testing inside homes near the crash has not shown contamination of drinking water or air, but Ila Cote — a toxicologist who worked at the EPA for nearly 30 years, carrying out disaster risk assessments — told the Reuters news agency that assessing potential long-term damage is complicated.

“The data on cancer risk from a single high exposure is not good,” Cote said. “But it would certainly be safe to say that, if people had been highly exposed to vinyl chloride, they would incur increased risk of cancer.”

Some labour groups say that the derailment — and the resulting safety concerns — are representative of trends pushed by rail companies under both Democratic and Republican administrations, including weakened regulatory standards and a workforce stretched thin by staffing cuts.

In a letter to the Federal Railroad Administration following the crash, the president of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department urged “greater federal oversight” of rail operations.

“For far too long, freight rail workers and unions have sounded the alarm about dangerous cost-cutting practices in the freight rail industry that pose real threats to workers and public safety,” the letter states.

In December 2022, Biden signed a bill imposing a contract on rail workers after negotiations between worker unions and railroad companies broke down and the threat of a nationwide strike loomed.

The bill included a pay increase for workers but did not address other issues, such as quality of life and paid sick leave. An amendment to the bill that would have included seven days of paid sick leave for railroad workers — a demand rail companies that had refused to consider — failed to pass the US Senate, with 42 Republicans and one Democrat voting it down.

Biden defended the final deal as “better than anything” railroad workers had ever received and said a strike would have paralysed the economy.

Labour groups pointed out that railroad companies had cut staffing by more than 30 percent in a six-year period, while enjoying rising profits and engaging in stock buybacks.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES