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UN Radio
UN and Africa
Programme Number: 113
Week of: Sunday, 13th August, 2006
Recording Date: Thursday, 17th August, 2006
AIDS CONFERENCE / TORONTO: The US government’s
HIV/AIDS policy for Africa is criticised as
Africa’s battle against the pandemic comes
under spotlight at the Sixteenth International
AIDS Conference in Toronto. We also hear about
calls for women and girls to be empowered to
fight the pandemic plus UNICEF’s call
for help for orphaned African children.
• LIBERIA: We hear from the Jordanian
Surgeon serving in the UN peacekeeping mission
in Liberia, MAJOR FOUAD BATTA.
Editor / Presenter: Ben Dotsei Malor
Producer: Derrick Mbatha
Production Assistant: Chuck Appel
Studio Engineer: Julio Martinich
Duration: 15’00”
PRESENTER: This is United Nations Radio from
New York.
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upon wave, and hold under narr.)
PRESENTER:
Greetings, I’m Ben Dotsei Malor and you’re
listening to, UN and Africa.
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dip and hold under)
PRESENTER:
Coming up … A.B.C - Abstain, Be Faithful
or Condoms use … The three key methods
for fighting HVI and AIDS. But is the current
US government placing too much emphasis on ABSTINENCE
in Africa?
CLIP-1: CLINTON AND APPLAUSE
“When I hear people pontificating about
AIDS and acting as if we can do everything through
abstinence, I think they don’t know what
most women are up against in too many parts
of the world today.”
Former US President Bill Clinton speaking at
a major intenational AIDS conference in Canada.
And UN Special Envoy on AIDS, Stephen Lewis,
describes the US government’s policy as
a form of colonialism.
CLIP-2: STEPHEN LEWIS
“You don’t say you will use x-percentage
on abstinence or on fidelity or on condoms.
That’s Africa’s decision. Governments
of the west have to understand that these are
sovereign states in Africa.”
Plus the Jordanian orthopaedic surgeon in Monrovia
who misses his family back in Amman but dedicates
his life to helping Liberians.
CLIP/TEASER: DR FOUAD BATTA
“I am very happy to come to Liberia, not
only because of the work. We are not too busy
here, so that we are working in comfort. And
in addition the country is very nice, the weather
is very nice here, and so the nature is very,
very beautiful. So I am very happy to be in
Liberia, not only for six months. I would like
to extend my work for a further six months ”
PRESENTER:
More from Major, Doctor Fouad Batta in just
a moment.
Stay with us, here on UN and Africa.
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AFRICAN ISSUES AND CONCERNS AT THE SIXTEENTH
AIDS CONFERENCE IN TORONTO
PRESENTER:
Thousands of delegates from around the world,
representing all walks of life, from politicians,
non-governmental organizations, to medical researchers
and others have been in Toronto for a week-long
conference on how to fight HIV/AIDS across the
world. The Sixteenth International AIDS conference
has been focusing on prevention and treatment
strategies, under the theme “Time To Deliver.”
For African countries, the key issues appear
to be the need to empower women and children
and how to prevent new infections, plus the
provision of ant-retroviral medication to those
suffering from the full-blown disease.
But some controversy has emerged over the current
US government’s fifteen billion dollar
emergency plan, which critics suggest emphasises
ABSTINENCE.
One such critic is, Stephen Lewis, the UN Secretary-General’s
Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Africa.
STEPHEN LEWIS COMMENT
“…the emphasis on the abstinence
programme instead of an equal emphasis on condoms
is distorting the policies of African countries
and I don’t like the implicit conditionality.
You offer money to African countries on American
terms. And we know that abstinence-only programmes
have no scientific basis for what is being claimed
for them. The colonialism I am talking about
is the colonialism which says to a government
in Africa, ‘this is the way you divide
your emphasis on these aspects. We’ll
tell you how much to put into each of the AB
and C.’ You don’t do that as a western
country. You don’t lay down conditions
for Africa. You don’t say you will use
x-percentage on abstinence or on fidelity or
on condoms. That’s Africa’s decision.
Governments of the west have to understand that
these are sovereign states in Africa. They have
programmes and the best way we can be of assistance
is to help the programmes they have designed
not impose our assumptions on them.”
This view is disputed by the US Global AIDS
Coordinator, Mark Dybul who said only seven
per cent of US AIDS funding last year was spent
on abstinence programmes. But the perceived
emphasis on abstinence is also criticised by
former US President Bill Clinton. Mr Clinton
stressed the need to empower women and spoke
of his own observations during a recent visit
to South Africa.
CLIP MR CLINTON CUT 5
“Last month, I visited a microbicide test
site in Durban with Bill and Melinda Gates,
and was heartened to talk to trial participants,
and learned the exciting gains being made there.
Our foundation is now partnering with the International
Partnership for Microbicides to help accelerate
their work by guaranteeing proper care and treatment
for all the participants in the test trials,
just as PEPFAR is doing for the Gates Foundation
in Durbin. Empowering women to protect themselves
seems so elemental, and yet when I hear people
pontificating about AIDS, and acting as if we
can do everything through abstinence, I think
they don't know what most women are up against
in too many parts of the world today.”
The former president noted that progress was
being made in providing anti-retroviral drugs
to millions of sufferers across the world.
Mr Clinton and his Foundation have been leading
some effective campaigns in the fight against
HIV and AIDS, an effort that was praised by
the UN Special Envoy for HIV and AIDS in Africa.
Mr Lewis recalled the Clinton Foundation’s
speedy response two years ago to a request fro
help from government of Lesotho.
CUT 1: STEPHEN LEWIS
“Within one month, I repeat, within one
month, the Clinton Foundation has signed a memorandum
of agreement with the Ministry of Health in
Lesotho, clearing the way for a range of support
on vital fronts, from negotiating the purchase
and distribution of low-cost antiretroviral
drugs and laboratory equipment to the provision
of technical assistance.”
NARRATOR:
The UN special envoy lamented the fact that
many people have needlessly died as a result
of unconscionable political neglect and stressed
the urgency of taking concrete steps to stop
the spread of the pandemic.
CUT 3 STEPHEN LEWIS
“What must suffuse everything we do is
the recognition that the sands of time have
run through the hourglass, that a civilized
international community will tolerate no longer
the often reckless indifference to the value
of human life.”
NARRATOR:
Defeating this worldwide indifference must
start with children
TEASER UNICEF OUR MESSAGE …
“Our message is – if we want to
have a generation free of AIDS, we have to start
with children.”
That’s according to the Deputy Executive
Director of the UN’s Children’s
Fund, UNICEF, Rima Salah, who has warned of
a lost generation in Africa.
CLIP UNICEF R SALAH LOST GENERATION IN AFRICA
“When they leave school, so they don’t
have the protection of the school, they don’t
have information and they don’t have the
power of education, and this was going to be
a lost generation, particularly in Africa, particularly
now that we think that 12.5 million children
are orphaned because of AIDS. But millions of
them are also affected by AIDS because of their
parents, because in Africa we have the extended
family. Sometimes even if an aunt is sick, an
uncle is sick then also the children are asked
to take care of them
Ms. Salah also highlighted some of the work
being done by UNICEF in the fight against HIV
and AIDS.
CLIP UNICEF R SALAH ACTION
“We are working with governments, particularly
to prevent the mother-to-child transmission.
I have visited many of those clinics, those
centres. We have programmes for youth, for example,
in Cameroon, in Mozambique, in others, where
we have life skills also that have been introduced
in school to improve information among young
people. For the protection issues, we are working
to empower families and communities to take
care of children – for example, grandmothers.
I have visited a grandmother in Sudan, for example,
she was taking care of four grandchildren, so
in a programme we were empowering her financially,
and also with information to help her take care
of her grandchildren. So we have different programmes
like this. We want to improve them, we want
to really reinforce them, and particularly,
we have many projects that have been successful,
but how to upscale all these programmes is very
important.”
UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director, RIMA
SALAH, ending that special report on the Sixteenth
International Conference on AIDS in Toronto,
Canada.
STING/JINGLE: UN AND AFRICA THEME
THE JORDANIAN ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEON IN THE UN
PEACEKEEPING MISSION IN LIBERIA
PRESENTER:
In Liberia, some 17,000 United Nations civilian
and military peacekeepers, coming from many
nationalities are working very hard in support
of the Liberian government, to consolidate peace
in the war-affected country. The work of these
peacekeepers in UNMIL takes many forms –
road-building, training of new security personnel,
the rebuilding of schools and clinics, the provision
of medical facilities and much, much more.
During my recent trip to Liberia, I visited
the Jordanian medical facility in Monrovia –
reputed to be the best hospital in Liberia right
now … And there I met and spoke with one
particular doctor …
LIBERIA MIX
Bhatta: I am Dr. Fouad Bhatta. I am the orthopaedic
surgeon in the Jordanian military hospital.
Ben: What kind of work have you been doing
here as orthopaedic surgeon?
Batta: I am treating actually the cases or
the injuries, bone injuries, trauma, accidents.
So all kinds of surgical interventions to the
bone and soft tissue around the bone, I’m
doing it, and I’m treating fractures mostly.
So bone and soft tissue injuries after accidents
are our speciality.
Ben: How busy are you with these kinds of problems?
Batta: Til now we arrive here six weeks ago,
I have done five surgical interventions for
major cases, but daily I am seeing at least
six patients in our hospital. But most of our
patients are being treated conservatively.
Ben: Is it just broken legs? Broken foot? What
kind of accidents are forcing people to come
to you here?
Batta: Most of the cases that are coming to
us, they are mainly bone fractures, ligamentus
injuries, tendon cuts, and so, soft tissue injuries,
so sharp-cut ones, most of these cases are coming
to us here.
Ben: And how happy are you with the work that
you and your colleagues, the Jordanian medical
team, are able to do?
Batta: I am very happy to come to Liberia,
not only because of the work. We are not too
busy here, so we are working with comfort. And
in addition, so the country is very nice, the
weather is very nice here, and the nature is
very, very beautiful. So I am very happy to
be in Liberia, not only for six months, but
I would like to extend my work for a further
six months.
Ben: That’s a great attitude from a peacekeeper
from the United Nations. Could you describe
for us the work done by your other colleagues?
You are an orthopaedic surgeon. What about your
other colleagues in this hospital? Describe
briefly for us the other work being done in
this hospital.
Batta: We have doctors for the most specialities.
So then most of them are seeing patients every
day, but everyone has chosen two or three days
during the week to see most of his follow-ups
for the patient. So we have doctors for the
most specialities…
Ben: specialities, like?
Batta: …like internal medicine, ophthalmology,
ENT, general surgery, internal medicine. We
have skin doctors. We have psychologists, others
specialities, major rehabilitation.
Ben: I see also that you have also a dental
clinic.
Batta: We have two dental clinics. We have
two dental doctors: one is a surgeon and the
other is a dental doctor.
Ben: So, overall, what impact do you think you
are making on Liberians on the peace process
here to consolidate peace? How would you describe
the impact of your work?
Batta: We are actually, what we contribute
to the local society here, we are getting some
humanitarian cases and some local emergency
cases here, so we are trying to show the good
medical face of the United Nations to the local
country here. So I think with our medical work
we are showing a good face for the help which
is being provided by the United Nations.
Ben: What do you miss most? You come from Amman,
Jordan. You’re here in Monrovia, Liberia,
what do you miss most being here?
Batta: OK, everyone is missing his family,
but the duration we are staying here, only six
months I think, is tolerable, and it is not
stressful. So although I am living away from
my family I am not missing anything. So, I am
finding everything which I want I can find here.
Ben: Dr. Fouad Batta, we can hear some airplanes,
maybe some helicopters flying. Maybe that’s
a signal that I should stop talking to you and
leave you to go and attend to your patients
here in the Jordanian hospital in Monrovia,
Liberia. Thank you very much.
Bhatta: Thank you very much. Hopefully, we’ll
see you later.
Major Doctor FOUAD BATTA of the Jordanian contingent
in the UN peacekeeping Mission in Liberia, UNMIL.
More grease to his elbow, more strength and
power to his hands, as we say here on UN AND
AFRICA.
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PRESENTER:
I’m Ben Dotsei Malor, with Chuck Appel,
Derrick Mbatha and Julio Martinich. We thank
you for listening.
Goodbye.
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