Japan Aids Healthcare for Poor Mothers in Bangladesh

By Naimul Haq

DHAKA (IDN) – Twenty-year-old Aklima Khatun gave birth to her first child on August 27 at a small clinic run by the government. The clinic, known as community clinic (CC), offers affordable but reliable maternal health services. Unlike the widely adopted traditional home deliveries, Aklima chose safer delivery in the hands of skilled birth attendants and in a hygienic environment.

All this was possible because Aklima had attended a safe motherhood programme, which promotes maternal healthcare and health education needed for mostly the poor and illiterate mothers. It is part of a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) funded project. The project aims at improving a maternal healthcare programme by revitalizing and enhancing effective care and monitoring.

Zimbabweans Embracing Solar Energy in Remote Areas

By Jeffrey Moyo

MWENEZI, Zimbabwe (IDN) – Deep in Vesera village in Mwenezi district in Zimbabwe’s Masvingo Province, 34-year-old Albert Chindiro emerges from his pole and dagga thatched hut holding a medium size solar panel which he positions on the roof to recharge solar batteries for lighting when night falls.

The house of neighbour Alphios Mhike is linked to power lines from the state energy utility, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), but has long been disconnected from the after Mhike failed to keep up payments for prepaid electricity supplies. He too has now turned to solar energy.

Tanzania Bailing Out Fistula Sufferers

By Kizito Makoye

DAR ES SALAAM (IDN) – Resting on her bed, Maimuna Saguti recalls the harrowing suffering she went through two months ago when she had to give birth under a mango tree while on her way to hospital.

“I don’t want to remember that day. The waters had broken hours before we reached the hospital,” she told IDN.

The 35-year-old food vendor from the village of Lukanga in Tanzania’s coastal Pwani Region suffered childbirth-related complications that not only caused an obstetric fistula, she also lost her child a few hours after giving birth.

Ethiopian Silver Medallist Fears Death Back Home

NEW YORK (IDN | GIN) – Using every fibre of his being, track star Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia made a dash across the finish line at the just-ended Olympic Games in Rio but it wasn’t to be the end of his run.

Lilesa used his high profile silver medal victory to make a sign of solidarity with the Oromo people who are locked in a decades-long struggle with the government of Ethiopia. In a photograph seen worldwide, 26-year-old Lilesa stands with his arms crossed over his head – a gesture of defiance used by Oromos in recent months.

Four Years on New Charges Rock British Mining Giant

NEW YORK | JOHANNESBURG (IDN | GIN) – Prayers have been said this week for 34 men, employees of the UK mining company Lonmin, who were fatally shot on August 16, 2012 during a strike and protest action over pay and conditions at the British Marikana platinum mine.

The shootings, by the South African Police Service, unleashed a national crisis. A Commission, appointed by President Jacob Zuma, found that the “decisive cause” of events on four years ago was an unlawful and reckless decision by senior police officials to disarm and disperse the strikers, by force if necessary.

‘Shamed’ Sierra Leone Bars Pregnant Girls from School

NEW YORK | FREETOWN (IDN | GIN) – At their next meeting in Geneva, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child will review reports detailing the obstacles, risks and challenges imposed by governments that limit the prospects for children to succeed.

Among the countries to be reviewed is Sierra Leone whose ban on admitting pregnant girls to mainstream schools was the subject of a briefing paper called “Shamed and Blamed”. Submitted by Amnesty International, it faults the policy expressed by Minister Minkailu Bah that “visibly pregnant girls would be a negative influence to other innocent girls”.

How Manyonga Rid Himself of ‘Demons’ for Silver Long Jump

NEW YORK | PRETORIA (IDN | GIN) – Luvo Manyonga was overjoyed with the silver long jump medal awarded him at the Rio Olympic Games on August 14. But the track and field star from Mbekweni township in South Africa has soared over obstacles more than once.

Manyongo grew up in a single parent household in a township still struggling to provide regular services of water, sanitation and electricity. Drugs, guns and violence are never far from the world of young people without jobs or prospects. A few years ago, Manyonga was on the verge of becoming another statistic of this cycle of life.

Complacency in Nigeria Blamed for Polio’s Return

NEW YORK | ABUJA (IDN | GIN) – A year after Nigeria was removed from the polio-endemic list, two cases have been reported in the northern Borno state, where the terrorist Boko Haram still controls the territory.

The eradication of polio, reported in 2015 by the World Health Organization, was called an “historic achievement” by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a public-private partnership leading the effort to eliminate the disease.

As recently as 2012, Nigeria accounted for more than half of all polio cases worldwide. Since then, a concerted effort by all levels of government, civil society, religious leaders and tens of thousands of dedicated health workers resulted in Nigeria successfully stopping polio.

Singapore’s 1st Olympic Gold Props Opponents of Foreign Talent

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SINGAPORE (IDN) – The stunning victory of 21-year-old Singaporean swimmer Joseph Schooling in the 100m butterfly at the Rio Olympics on August 12 has reignited debate about importing foreign sporting talent to raise the profile of local sports, especially in the international arena.

It was the tiny island nation’s first ever Olympic gold medal and Southeast Asia’s first Olympic Gold in swimming.

Schooling beat his childhood idol and perhaps the greatest swimmer of all-time Michael Phelps of the United States as well as Commonwealth Games champion Chad Le Clos of South Africa and the 33-time European champion Laszlo Cseh of Hungary. All three of them tied for silver medal while the young Singaporean took the gold with a new Olympic Games record.

Africa’s Civil Society Faces Up to Hostile Governments

By Kingsley Ighobor*

NEW YORK (IDN | Africa Renewal) – A Liberian women’s peace movement led by 31-year-old Leymah Gbowee did something extraordinary in July 2003 to force Liberian warlords to sign a peace agreement that ended 10 years of a bloody civil war.

After months of fruitless negotiations, hundreds of women, members of Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace, gathered at the venue of the peace talks in Accra, Ghana, and sat at the entrance to the conference hall. They looped their hands and vowed to stop the warlords from leaving the venue until they had reached a peace agreement.

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