‘Fully mobilised leader’


UgandanPresident is the first African political leader to take a bold step in
support of biotechnology research and adoption in his country.

Biotech vital tool to combat hunger in Africa - Museveni

By Eliud Chausik

UGANDA’S President Yoweri Museveni has scored a first by being the only African leader to not only fully support the adoption of biotechnology, but also to embrace its application in his country.
Museveni says he is now more than convinced that biotech is an important tool for Africans, especially in enhancing food production and quality.
“I am now fully mobilised to accept biotechnology,” he said when he presided over the launch of a multi-million-shilling biotechnology laboratory at the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) at Kawanda recently.

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Kenya to host Aids conference

By Susan Mabonga

AS Kenya prepares to host the 13th International Conference on Aids and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA), the gravity of the pandemic has placed Africa on the spotlight, especially with regard to providing access to palliative care and affordable drugs for the treatment of opportunistic ailments. The conference brings together health providers, government officials, politicians and non-governmental organisation delegates to share experiences on the continent’s response to Aids. The theme of the conference, which is usually held once, every two year is; Access to Care: Challenges.
Statistics indicate that at the end of 2002, there were 29.4 million people infected with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. An estimated 3 million died from Aids across the globe in 2,000. Some 2.4 million of these victims were in sub-Saharan Africa, a region plagued by crippling poverty, hunger and disease.
With such alarming statistics, it is evident that the Aids epidemic is ravaging the continent, threatening the equilibrium of the public health systems. But these are not only social consequences, but the epidemic also threatens the entire African economy and the future development of the continent.

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Heated debate over nile treaty

By Onyango Nyamol and Peter Abwao

THE recent heated debate on whether the 1929 historically lopsided Anglo-Egyptian Nile Treaty, should be reviewed and repealed threatens regional stability as the tussle over access to the Nile water may be catalyst to conflict .
The dispute which was sparked by the upper riparian states, especially the three East African countries also poses a critical question on the use and conservation of the shared river’s waters as a natural resource.
And as the controversy rages , a recently released UN Development Programme (UNDP) report warns that by the main conflicts in Africa in the next quarter century could be over that most precious of commodities - water, as countries fight for access to scarce resources.
The report stresses that these potential “water wars” are likely in areas where rivers and lakes are shared by more than one country, according to report.
It lists the Nile among others like the Niger,Volta and Zambezi basins as possible flashpoints.

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