Day: May 29, 2022

GENEVA— Some prominent infectious disease experts are pushing for faster action from global health authorities to contain a growing monkeypox outbreak that has spread to at least 20 countries.

They are arguing that governments and the World Health Organization (WHO) should not repeat the early missteps of the COVID-19 pandemic that delayed the detection of cases, helping the virus spread.

While monkeypox is not as transmissible or dangerous as COVID-19, these scientists say, there needs to be clearer guidance on how a person infected with monkeypox should isolate, more explicit advice on how to protect people who are at risk, and improved testing and contact tracing.

“If this becomes endemic (in more countries), we will have another nasty disease and many difficult decisions to take,” said Isabelle Eckerle, a professor at the Geneva Centre for Emerging Viral Diseases in Switzerland.

The WHO is considering whether the outbreak should be assessed as a potential public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), an official said.

A WHO determination that an outbreak constitutes a global health emergency – as it did with COVID-19 or Ebola – would help accelerate research and funding to contain a disease.

“It is always under consideration, but no emergency committee as yet (on monkeypox),” Mike Ryan, director of the WHO’s health emergencies programme, said on the sidelines of the agency’s annual meeting in Geneva.

However, experts say it is unlikely the WHO would reach such a conclusion soon, because monkeypox is a known threat the world has tools to fight. Discussing whether to set up an emergency committee, the body that recommends declaring a PHEIC, is just part of the agency’s routine response, WHO officials said.

Eckerle called for the WHO to encourage countries to put more coordinated and stringent isolation measures in place even without an emergency declaration. She worries that talk of the virus being mild, as well as the availability of vaccines and treatments in some countries, “potentially leads to lazy behaviour from public health authorities”.

More than 300 suspected and confirmed cases of monkeypox, a usually mild illness that spreads through close contact, causing flu-like symptoms and a distinctive rash, have been reported this month.

Most have been in Europe rather than in the Central and West African countries where the virus is endemic. No deaths have been reported in the current outbreak.

However, global health officials have expressed alarm over the growing outbreak in non-endemic countries. The WHO has said it expects numbers to rise as surveillance increases.

On Friday, the WHO reiterated that the monkeypox virus is containable with measures including the quick detection and isolation of cases and contact tracing.

Mass vaccination is not considered necessary but some countries, including Britain and France, are offering vaccines to healthcare workers and close contacts.

Other experts say the current response is proportionate and that deeming monkeypox a global health emergency and declaring a PHEIC would be inappropriate at this stage.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

This World Hunger Day (28th May), Caritas Internationalis denounces the dramatic rise in hunger due to the climate crisis, the impact of COVID-19, and conflicts, particularly highlighting how the war in Ukraine is having dire consequences on the entire globe, especially regarding food insecurity.

Therefore, Caritas Confederation calls on governments and key stakeholders to engage at all levels and urges the implementation of sustainable recovery strategies that build on addressing the impacts of climate change and conflicts in order to enhance the resilience of the food supply chain and avoid hunger spikes.

Across the globe, around 276 million people face acute food insecurity, while 811 million people still go to bed on an empty stomach. Across the Sahel and the Horn of Africa regions, many millions of people are facing drought and famine conditions, and an estimated 15-16 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia are in need of immediate food assistance because of the drought. In Venezuela, where child malnutrition rose to 26 per cent during the Covid-19 pandemic, 9.3 million people are food insecure, and 96 per cent of the population live in poverty, with less than $3 a day. In Syria, more than 55% of the population is considered food insecure. The number of malnourished Syrian children – more than 6.5 million – has increased by seven per cent in the past year alone.

Caritas Confederation implements a number of community-led programmes and initiatives worldwide, particularly in the Global South, to address the nexus of multiple drivers of hunger, including poverty, socio-political instability, war, access to decent work opportunities, injustice and climate change.

Local and national Caritas have worked on the training of farmers on agroecology, and the growth of local community economies to help cope with factors that undermine food security and social cohesion. For example, in Burkina Faso, to assist the more than 2.2 million that have gone hungry due to conflict and extreme weather conditions, Caritas Burkina Faso has been providing the affected with food and access to social and economic services to enhance inclusion. The local Caritas has also been facilitating access to information and services for smallholders and other value chain actors in order to improve the production and processing of sustainable products and nutritious food.

In Rohingya camps in Bangladesh, Caritas has helped organise and support a number of microfinancing initiatives such as community kitchen garden projects, fisheries, beehives, as well as pig and goat farming.

“To avert the imminent risk of an unprecedented global food crisis, there is an urgent need for long-term sustainable solutions and political will and determination, addressing the roots of our unjust food system that triggers hunger,” says Caritas Internationalis General Secretary, Aloysius John. He also highlights the central role local communities can play in creating change and overcoming the issues connected with food security and world hunger. “A world without hunger is possible provided people are motivated and encouraged to become active players in food production,” he adds.

In his encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis highlights that “[…] millions of people suffer and die from hunger. At the same time, tons of food are thrown away. This constitutes a genuine scandal. Hunger is criminal; food is an inalienable right.” Recalling these words, on World Hunger Day, Caritas Internationalis urges the world leaders and policy-makers to:

– Allocate more funds to programmes that enhance community resilience in the longer term in order to tackle different drivers of hunger, including conflict, environmental degradation, and bad governance systems.

– Strengthen inclusive policy dialogues and transparency on structural drivers of hunger. This response should be coordinated to provide assistance to the local structural systems.

– Give priority to programmes that holistically support the poorest and the marginalized, including smallholder farmers and include the rights of the poor in all discussions. It is also crucial to include meaningful participation of local producers and consumers, especially women, who are responsible for 60 to 80% of food production in the developing countries, in policymaking and implementation at the local levels.

– Promote the adoption of sustainable practices in the food system, and scale up ecological and sustainable farming. Investing in food systems’ transformation, especially in agroecology, could make nations more resilient to geopolitical shocks that accelerate hunger.

– Implement sustainable recovery strategies that build on addressing impacts of climate change and conflicts in order to enhance the resilience of the food supply chain and avoid hunger spikes.

Source: Caritas

Cape Town hosted the third Special Edition trail event at Homestead Park in Oranjezicht yesterday, Saturday, 28 May 2022. Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security Alderman JP Smith represented the City of Cape Town as a sponsor of the Special Edition.

Approximately 500 local and international trail runners took on the gritty 50km trails of Table Mountain.

The trail route includes some of the most iconic sections of Table Mountain, including the upper slopes of Kirstenbosch Nature Reserve, Newlands Ravine and the Saddle, Oppelskop and Devil’s Peak, the Pipe Track above Camps Bay, Corridor Ravine and the Twelve Apostles, which all form part of the iconic natural world heritage site and one of the New7Wonders of Nature.

The two loops are both extremely challenging and provided the runners with a mix of technical terrain, single and jeep tracks with steep ascents and descents.

Runners could choose if they wanted to run the 25km Devils Loop or the 25km Atlantic Loop, or do both. Almost 60 runners chose to do both.

While the majority of the field came from the Western Cape, other parts of South Africa and countries like Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, USA, Zimbabwe, Switzerland, Finland, Ireland, Belgium and Reunion were also represented.

‘It was thrilling to welcome all the trail runners to Cape Town for the Special Edition, an event that encourages a healthy lifestyle and contributes to nature conservation, while also putting our city on the international stage. This race and other events hosted in Cape Town over the last couple of months is an excellent indication that the events ecosystem is steadily navigating its way back to pre-pandemic levels,’ said Alderman Smith.

The event took place for the third time and has been supported by the City since its inception at the end of 2020.

The event provides a competitive platform for the global trail running community to display their skills, while also showcasing the trails of Table Mountain.

The event also contributes to nature conservation through the Ultra-Trail Cape Town Fund set up for the maintenance of the trails and for social clean-up campaigns within the greater Table Mountain Park.

The fund also supports runners who cannot afford the entry fees for the race.

This also applies for the flagship event, the Ultra-Trail Cape Town, which takes place in November.

Ultra-Trail Cape Town, the biggest trail running event in South Africa last year introduced a 24-hour cut off for the 100km. It will host its first 100-miler this year, which will take runners to the Southern trails of Kalk Bay, Silvermine and Simonstown.

Source: City Of Cape Town

Council has approved the commencement of the public participation processes for more than 700 social housing units in the central city area. The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Councillor Malusi Booi visited the proposed sites in central Cape Town. Public input and partnerships are key thrusts of social housing developments.

‘The proposed Newmarket Street land release in central Cape Town includes around 365 mixed-market units and 165 social housing units. The Pickwick property in Salt River comprises a 1 800 unit development, proposed to include some 600 social housing units. All necessary public participation and due processes will be followed.

‘The City currently has more than 6 500 social housing units in the overall pipeline across 50 land parcels citywide. This includes 2 000 social housing units in the central Cape Town area, and a further 2 500 opportunities - either in the construction phase or close to it - along the Voortrekker Road Corridor and near important economic nodes.

‘This is an exciting time for us. Our plans of building Cape Town together are coming along and there is the will and great desire for real action and delivery, despite the heavy regulatory environment that we are operating in. The City is doing everything in its power to expedite processes,’ said Councillor Booi.

The City’s recently launched Land Release Programme, a priority programme of Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. In building Cape Town as a City of Hope, the land release programme aims to unlock and drive the potential for a large-scale public private sector social housing programme.

It focuses on:

1. A more fluid and rapid pipeline of land release for social housing

2. Identifying large mixed-use sites for private sector development

3. Unlocking the massive potential of micro-developers

4. Developing an enabling environment to accelerate land release

Facts about social housing:

• It is managed by accredited social housing institutions (SHIs).

• SHIs are solely dependent on rental income. They receive no operational grants. They are able to service their debt finance through rental income.

• As with any rental contract, tenants formally enter into lease agreements. The landlord is the SHI.

• If tenants do not adhere to their lease agreements, the responsible SHI will follow the necessary legal process. Tenants must therefore pay to stay as the rental money is used for the day-to-day operation and upkeep of the complex.

• The City has nothing to do with the day-to-day management of SHIs, the rental amount or evictions for not paying.

• Before potential beneficiaries can apply for social housing, they are required to register on the City's Housing Needs Register.

• Projects are developed on well-located, accessible land in and near urban centres.

• It is not low-income subsidised government housing, such as Breaking New Ground (or the commonly called RDP housing and it is not City Council Rental Units).

• It is managed with 24-hour security and access control.

• The City may sell City-owned land at a discounted price for social housing developments to make projects economically viable.

• Social housing offers improved access to social facilities and other amenities.

• A single grant subsidy can benefit on average five households versus one household for Council rental units.

• Social housing adds value to vacant pieces of land.

• Social housing has the potential to improve property values in an area.

Source: City Of Cape Town

The free pass for overdue items coincides with International Children’s Day, and gives children under the age of 12 the opportunity to return their library items without any fines payable.

Children who have long overdue items from any of the City’s libraries can return their books and magazines without any fines during a special Children’s Amnesty Week from 1 to 8 June.

More than 25 000 items are currently outstanding from patrons aged 12 and under.

‘I am delighted that children are excited about books and enjoy reading so much, that they don’t want to let go of the stories that have captured their imagination. It’s a joy we want to share with all our other young patrons and I want to encourage them to return their overdue items, without incurring any fines,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Patricia van der Ross.

More than 140 titles in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series are outstanding and they make up nearly a third of the top 30 titles that are oustanding.

Most of the other titles in the top 30 are fairy tales and four Afrikaans titles.

‘When you return your items, you can take out new books and embark on fresh adventures. Reading helps improve your vocabulary and grammar skills, and enhances reading with comprehension. Every new book is an opportunity to grow and learn,’ said Councillor Van der Ross.

Apart from the fine free initiative, a number of City libraries will host activities to mark the occasion, including:

Claremont Library will hold a story hour and craft session on Wednesday, 1 and 8 June 2022 at 10:00 for children up to the age of three and their caregivers

Bellville Library will host the Born-to-Read Story Times for babies and toddlers, on Wednesday mornings from 10:00 to 11:00

Milnerton Library will have a Pram Jam session with sing-along- songs, nursery rhymes and shakers on Thursday, 2 June at 11:00 for tots aged up to five years

Pinelands Library will host Pinelands schools for sessions of story time at the library every day from 1 to 6 June. As part of the invitation communication to schools, they were encouraged to announce the amnesty week and request the children to return outstanding books. If schools are interested in booking a class for a session with the library, they can contact Marlene at marlene.davids@capetown.gov.za 021 530 7160

Dunoon Library will have a number of events for children aged three to six between 10:00 and 15:00. These include storytelling on 1 and 6 June, storytelling and colouring in on 2 June, storytelling and educational games on 3 June

Southfield library will host a pram jam on Wednesday, 8 June at Plumstead Park (between Lympleigh and Rotherfield Roads) from 11:30 to 12:30

Table View Library will host a storytelling session on 7 June from 09:00 to10:00. Activities include rhyme time, sing-a-long, reading of a story and fun craft session

Brooklyn Library will host a story and activity on 1 June from 10:00 with the Teddy Den Crèche about book care and the importance of returning library books

Lansdowne Library will host storytelling on 1, 6 and 8 June from 10:30

Brackenfell Library will host story time at various playschools and aftercare facilities

Simons Town Library will hosting a Teddy Bear story time on 4 June from 10:00

Woodstock Library will host a toddler story time on Tuesday 7 June at 10:30

Source: City Of Cape Town

PARKTOWN - The police in Gauteng have issued a reward of R100 000.00 to anyone who can come forth with information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of Mbuso Ndabazovela Biyela who is wanted for multiple cases of murder that occurred between the year 2017 and 2022 at Jabulani and Lenasia in Gauteng and at Nquthu in KwaZulu-Natal.

The suspect is tall, light in complexion and deemed armed and very dangerous.

Anyone with information that can lead to the arrest of the suspect as well as the conviction is urged to call Major General Mbuso Khumalo at 082 555 8642 and Colonel Friccah Masilela at 082 822 7270 or Crime Stop at 08600 10111 or by using MySAPS app. All received information will be treated as confidential.

Source: South African Police Service

PRETORIA – The Hawks' National Head, Lieutenant General (Dr/Adv) Godfrey Lebeya expressed his disenchantment on the alleged involvement of officers from the Directorate in criminal activities.

Two National Headquarters Hawks officers, a Lieutenant Colonel and a Captain working at Supply Chain Management are in police custody after they were arrested on 27 May 2022 by the Hawks' National Priority Violent Crimes and Tactical Operations Management Section.

Information about a Lieutenant Colonel who intended to supply SAPS ammunition to a traditional healer was received, which culminated to a sting operation being conducted. The female traditional healer (43) was subsequently arrested at her place of residence in Soshanguve on 27 May 2022 after an exchange was made. She was charged with illegal possession of ammunition and possession of suspected stolen property following the seizure of other items suspected to belong to the state.

Further investigation led to the arrest of a female Lieutenant Colonel who was charged with theft and dealing in ammunition whilst the female Captain was arrested and charged with defeating the ends of justice after it was discovered that she tried to conceal evidence in this matter.

The traditional healer will appear in the Pretoria North Magistrates' Court whilst the two members will appear in the Pretoria Central Magistrate` Court on Monday, 30 May 2022.

"We expect all our members to be beyond reproach and will ensure that the alleged culprits face the full might of the law. We shall continue to act without fear or favour regardless of the status of those who transgress the law," said Lieutenant General Lebeya.

Source: South African Police Service