In a bold move, African leaders meeting in Abuja have unequivocally demonstrated their commitment to accelerating access to HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria services in the next five years. Meeting in Abuja this week, at the Heads of State Summit to review progress towards the implementation of the Abuja Declaration on ATM and other related infectious diseases, leaders adopted ambitious continental targets for implementation of programmes addressing the three diseases.

Recent media focus on intellectual property rules has led many to believe that the entire debate centers around the issues of piracy of films, videos and DVDs. There is a constant refrain that a watertight regime of intellectual property rules is essential to protect the rights of those who devised, developed and produced innovative goods, be it art or health cures.

The issue of appropriate health care financing mechanisms is once again high on the policy agenda of African governments. Not only have a number of governments (including South Africa, Uganda and Zambia) abolished some or all fees at public health facilities, which looks set to have ripple effects around the continent, but international organisations are placing considerable importance on health care financing in their engagements with African governments, reports the latest edition of the Network for Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa (Equinet).

Swaziland's home-based caregivers are too few and too poorly paid to cope with the growing numbers of bedridden AIDS patients, but in the absence of adequate health facilities and trained professionals, they are seen as the immediate answer to a national emergency. Over 40 percent of sexually active Swazis are HIV positive, but only a few thousand are on antiretroviral (ARV) medication that can help prolong their lives.

Some two million babies born every year in the developing world die on the first day of their lives, the Save the Children charity has said. A report by the charity says most die from preventable causes, such as infections, a difficult birth or low birth weight. It says many of the lives could be saved by simple, cheap techniques. The charity also found it is safest to be a mother in Scandinavian countries - and most dangerous in African ones. The findings recommend increased investment to give young women better education and nutrition, and advocates encouraging skilled attendants to help at births.

HIV/Aids in Southern Africa is under-reported, the voices of those most affected are least heard and the gender dimensions of the pandemic are not well reflected. This is according to a study released by the Media Monitoring Project and Gender Links in Johannesburg on Wednesday - which is also World Press Freedom Day - at a launch of the HIV/Aids and Gender Baseline Study and Media Resource Desk.

Amid rising tensions and reported preparations for armed attacks in Chad, WFP warned on election day in Chad that food is becoming a serious issue for some 70,000 people who have either fled the continuous armed incursions in the east of the country or are resident there. The closure of the border between Chad and Sudan following the rebel assault on the capital in April could also have a serious impact on WFP operations in West Darfur, where the agency is currently feeding a total of 500,000 people.

Free maternal healthcare, a 15 percent salary increase for workers in the public service and the setting up of anti-corruption bodies are some of the measures Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza announced in a message to the nation on the eve of Labour Day, marked worldwide on 1 May. "Current salaries do not allow workers to make ends meet," he said in the central province of Gitega in a speech aired nationwide on state-owned Radio Burundi.

Deaths from cholera in Tanzania's semi autonomous island of Zanzibar have reached 15, up from eight recorded two weeks ago, health officials said. Cholera outbreaks in Zanzibar often occur during the rainy season. Use of contaminated water and lack of toilets - resulting in people relieving themselves in the bush - are some of the factors contributing to the spread of the disease.

In rural Zimbabwe, community health clubs have been set up to change health behaviour and increase demand for better sanitation. A study of the clubs' impact suggests that they have helped to change up to 17 key hygiene practices. This approach could now be replicated in other countries.

Published by the World Health Organization in collaboration with GTZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit), this online toolkit is intended as a resource to guide the development and implementation of effective HIV interventions in diverse sex work settings.

A visiting Somalia minister has joined the World Health Organisation and Unicef in appealing for Sh720 million to eradicate polio in the strife-torn country. The Somalia health minister told a press conference in Nairobi that the threat of the disease spreading to neighbouring countries was serious and must be stopped. Already, he said, some cases had been reported in Ethiopia. The minister said 191 cases of polio had been confirmed in Somalia since last July.

Uncircumcised African men are at higher risk of HIV infection - because the inner surface of the foreskin contains cells that make it highly susceptible to infection. This new data, believed to be the first of its kind in African men, adds further weight to a South African study that last year revealed that circumcision could protect two-thirds of men from contracting HIV. According to the authors of the new study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology, their research among Kenyan men is the first study of human foreskin tissue that examines why, biologically, uncircumcised African men are more likely to contract HIV than their circumcised counterparts.

All public hospitals will receive funds directly from the Government from next year in a new plan aimed at improving health care. The funding switch comes against a background of rising death rates among babies and children under five, blamed on increases in malaria, HIV/Aids, tuberculosis, and other preventable illnesses affecting mothers and children. The plan to introduce direct funding - instead of hospitals having to apply to the Treasury for their money - is part of a wider scheme that will also see the Government hire about 3,800 new health workers, mostly nurses, out of the 10,000 they need.

There are major debates going on in Southern African Development Community countries over the contribution from national grain (and especially maize) policies to the problems of regional food insecurity through restrictions on production and marketing. This policy brief is intended to encourage greater civil society organisations involvement in these debates and show that local evidence on the impact of national maize price and market policies can help to inform what is a very complex issue for most governments confronted with immediate challenges of widespread hunger in their own countries and demands to address long term strategies for the region as a whole.

NGOs can build strong, lasting action on HIV/AIDS by working strategically with other people and organisations. This toolkit is designed for facilitators to use to enable participants to form partnerships, develop specific skills and increase their experience. It is one of a series of resources designed to build practical skills, provide a training resource, and to continue learning.

While I strongly believe that the likes of Charles Taylor should be brought to justice for their crimes, however the United Nations and the international community seems to be applying the law very arbitrarily.
 
Are we ever going to see George Bush, Tony Blair, Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and other architects of the illegal oil war on Iraq, that, according to reputable estimates, has killed more than a hundred thousand Iraqis, also brought to book?
 
Furthermore, will the Israeli war criminals, such as Ariel Sharon, ever be brought  to justice for their crimes against defenceless Palestinians?

You can play your part to fight malaria! Now you have a chance to play your part in the fight against this killer disease. Join the SWAT TEAM - the world's first on-line army with the mission to shoot down malaria!

Malnutrition is increasing again in Sudan's Darfur region, where increased violence and lack of funds are hampering aid efforts, the UN has said. Clinics have seen a 20% increase in severely malnourished children since January, a spokesman for the UN children's agency, Unicef, said. The surge in fighting has forced some 200,000 people to flee, bringing the total displaced to over two million. Mediators are trying to get the warring sides to reach a peace deal.

It's official: for the first time in five years, drought-stricken Malawi will have a bumper maize harvest, according to a final crop estimate by the ministry of agriculture. Good rain and a successful government-sponsored fertiliser and seed distribution programme boosted farmers' yields, said Patrick Kabambe, secretary for agriculture and food security. The country is forecast to produce about 2.35 million mt of maize, just over the annual requirement of 2 million mt.