Somalia: Local Leaders Bicker as Ethiopia Troops Leave Mogadishu

Somalia’s top two leaders continued to bicker over the upcoming presidential election, even as the much-awaited Ethiopian army pullout began in the capital Mogadishu, Radio Garowe reports.An official ceremony was held in Mogadishu overnight Monday, hosted by interim Prime Minister Nur “Adde” Hassan Hussein and attended by Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) officials, Ethiopian army commanders and African Union generals.Prime Minister Nur Adde said he welcomes the withdrawal of Ethiopian armed forces as part of the Djibouti Agreement signed with the opposition faction ARS, whose representatives were also present at the ceremony.

Somalia: Violence Continues As Ethiopian Troops Begin Pullout

The Ethiopian army has began withdrawing its troops from Somalia’s capital after a two-year military occupation, but the violence that triggered the invasion continues, Radio Garowe reports.More than 20 military trucks, including transport and armored vehicles, left bases in Mogadishu and headed southwards to the town of Afgoye, in neighboring Lower Shabelle region.Bereket Simon, special adviser to Ethiopia’s prime minister, told the Reuters news agency that the Ethiopian army’s withdrawal from Somalia as entered the “implementation phase.”

More Ethiopian Troops Arrive in Darfur Bolstering Peacekeeping Operation

More than 300 Ethiopian troops arrived in Darfur over the last two days to boost the strength of the joint United Nations-African Union force, known as UNAMID, deployed earlier this year in an attempt to suppress the violence and humanitarian suffering in the war-torn Sudanese region.More personnel from the Ethiopian Infantry Battalion are expected to land in El Geneina, West Darfur by the end of the week.Their principal duties will include conducting security patrols, enhancing security and fostering confidence within the local population, as well as conducting escorts for humanitarian convoys.

Africa: No More Excuses on Gender Violence

As the world marks the twenty-seventh International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, United Nations figures indicate that in the course of her lifetime, one in every three women is beaten, coerced into sex or abused, by a relative or acquaintance.In Africa , concerns continue to be raised over poor legislation and enforcement to protect women and girls from harm.At the African Development Forum, held in Addis from Nov. 19-21, it emerged that many women do not report cases of violence, particularly those involving intimate partners, for fear of reprisal, which may include economic deprivation, physical abuse, or losing custody of their children.”There is a deep culture of silence where women do not tell about their husbands or partners beating them; they fear that they may stop being provided for, particularly if the man is the bread winner,” says Auxillia Ponga, a gender advisor with the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Malaria vaccine for Africa

A malaria vaccine trial on children in Africa starts next month researchers have said. The medical trial will take place on about 16,000 children and has come about as the researchers try to create the world’s first malaria vaccine. Malaria kills more than one million children yearly in Africa.The vaccine trials are expected to take place in such countries as Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.Malaria is one of the diseases which is killing more people especially children in Africa and is caused by parasites and spread by mosquitoes.The British drug-maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC is teaming with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, which is an anti-malaria charity funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, clinics and research centres in Africa to develop a malaria vaccine, according to the NewsDay report.

Youths discuss Africa’s future

African youths are gathering in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to brainstorm and provide recommendations on how best the continent should be developed. The Danish government is providing the platform for 60 participants through its African Commission.The forum dubbed “African Youth Panel” would gather young people between the ages of 15 and 30 years old, with different professional backgrounds from all over Africa. It is expected to open on November 16-19 2008.This three-day conference would consist of intensive workshops including presentations and discussions on a variety of issues. Some of the core areas that would be discussed include climate change, hunger and poverty, agriculture, growth and employment, HIV, growth and employment and women’s economic empowerment. The outcome would be a list of recommendations to further the work of the Danish Africa Commission.

Ethiopia backs Somalia peace deal

Ethiopia has given its total support to the ceasefire agreement reached on Sunday between the Somali transitional government and the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS). It said it would respect a UN – brokered peace deal for Somalia requiring the gradual withdrawal of its troops.“The agreement reached in Djibouti by the two parties is in line with our policy of orderly withdrawal,” said foreign ministry spokesman Wahade Belay on Monday. He added that Ethiopia would implement the decisions reached by the two parties in Djibouti.

However, some sections of the opposition have rejected the agreement, saying that it will not be able to bring peace and understanding among all Somalis particularly because it is not specific about the total withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia.

Shortlist for Africa’s best player out

The Confederation of Africa Football has unveiled the shortlists for the Glo-CAF Awards 2008. CAF Director of Communications, Sulemana Habuba also announced innovations in the event with the aim of making it prestigious. The Media and Technical Committees nominated the shortlists for the two awards.The innovation Habuba said had led to the creation of the Glo-CAF Best Player on the Continent and the Glo-CAF Best Player across the World, according to cafonline.

Ethiopia, Norway become friends again

Ethiopia has restored diplomatic ties with Norway, a year after it expelled six Norwegian diplomats accusing Oslo of undermining its national security and spreading instability. The foreign ministers of the two countries agreed to restore relations to their previous status, reuters reported.Ethiopia has restored diplomatic ties with Norway, a year after it expelled six Norwegian diplomats accusing Oslo of undermining its national security and spreading instability. The foreign ministers of the two countries agreed to restore relations to their previous status, reuters reported.”Accordingly, the decision taken by the government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia last year in connection with the diplomatic representation of the Kingdom of Norway in Addis Ababa has been rescinded,” a statement from the Ethiopian government said.Ethiopia’s foreign minister last year accused Norway of financing soldiers in neighbouring Eritrea and “terror” groups in Somalia and Sudan, a Norwegian newspaper said.Norwegian media then reported that Oslo’s efforts to help cool tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which fought a 1998-2000 border war that killed 70,000 people, appeared to be the cause of Ethiopia’s expulsion of the diplomats.

Bill Gates spray $168m on Africa

$168.7 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been made available to develop vaccines for malaria – a disease that kills thousands of African children every day. PATH has been tasked to use the money through its initiative to bring down malaria reported cases on the continent.The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) is working with GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals to develop a first-generation vaccine candidate, known as RTS,S, which could become the first-ever approved malaria vaccine. With the new grant announced on Monday, MVI will support the development of next-generation vaccines that could provide even greater and longer-lasting protection.“I’m very hopeful that the malaria vaccine currently in advanced testing will be proven effective, but that will just be the first step,” said Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation. “Now it’s time to develop a new generation of vaccines that are even more effective, and could someday help eradicate malaria altogether.”Gates announced the new funding at the UN Millennium Development Goals Malaria Summit, a meeting of heads of state, CEOs, UN officials, and other leaders held in the US.At the event, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership launched the Global Malaria Action Plan, a comprehensive global strategy to fight malaria. The Gates Foundation grant and other commitments announced would help address key priorities in the Action Plan. The grant would support MVI’s efforts to expand its vaccine R&D pipeline with projects ranging from early-stage laboratory research to advanced clinical testing. MVI will work with partners to discover new antigens and adjuvants that could lead to more effective vaccines, and develop new tools to select the most promising candidates for further development.MVI will also work to foster a more competitive vaccine marketplace and help ensure that future vaccines will be affordable and accessible in developing countries. They will conduct market assessments, demand forecasting, and modeling studies to guide policymakers and vaccine manufacturers, and partner with vaccine makers in developing countries to keep costs low.“These new funds are recognition that we have a solid research and development strategy, and the team to deliver on it,” said Dr. Christian Loucq, Director of MVI. “This commitment should signal to potential research partners that the time is ripe to work with us to help defeat this horrible disease. Already, we have added to our roster of partners and entered into collaborative agreements on vaccine components, ways to boost their potency, and methods for testing their biological activity.”“Our strategy for developing a malaria vaccine follows the PATH approach to neglected diseases, which has shown that investment in core areas of research and development, particularly vaccine technology, does yield important advances,” said Dr. Christopher J. Elias, president and CEO of PATH. “The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative is now ready to accelerate further the development of what the world urgently needs: safe, effective, and affordable vaccines that reduce the suffering caused by malaria.”The grant addresses one of the priorities in the new Global Malaria Action Plan, released today by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership. The plan provides a unified global strategy for fighting malaria, including greater use of today’s tools, and research on vaccines and other new technologies.“The Global Malaria Action Plan makes a compelling case for greater investment in malaria,” said Gates. “If we have the chance to save millions of lives, and a clear plan to make it happen, we have an obligation to act. We’re committed to supporting a range of efforts to make the Action Plan a reality – today’s grant is just the first step.Gates hailed new data from the World Malaria Report, released last week by WHO, showing encouraging progress against malaria in several African countries through 2006. He also highlighted more recent data from Zambia and Ethiopia that further demonstrate the impact of aggressive, large-scale malaria control programs.The Zambian health ministry reported this week that since 2006, malaria control efforts have helped to reduce malaria parasite prevalence in children by 50%. Since 2002, the percentage of households with at least one insecticide-treated mosquito net has increased from 14% to 60%, and malaria control successes have helped to reduce overall child mortality by 29%.Earlier this month, Ethiopia’s health ministry announced that it has reached nearly 70% of households in high-risk areas with at least one insecticide-treated mosquito net and/or indoor residual spraying, and that effective malaria treatment with artemisinin-based combination therapy is now available nationwide.“The good news from Ethiopia and Zambia demonstrates that extraordinary progress can be made against malaria, even in the poorest and most remote communities,” said Gates. “By building on and replicating these successes globally, we can save millions of lives.”Both countries are partners in the Malaria Control and Evaluation Partnership in Africa (MACEPA), a PATH initiative that is funded by the Gates Foundation.