Tobacco Control in Africa - TCA

Grants allocated by the Bloomberg Initiative to Ghana and Mozambique

Visiting the site where the Bloomberg Initiative lists the grants it has awarded, we find two grants we had not heard about: one for Ghana and one for Mozambique. Details below.

African Tobacco Control Consortium: Who are the recipients of the "small" grants for 2010?

On August 3, the Consortium had closed the first round  to offer "small" tobacco control action grants (maximum $20K for a two year period). 5 months later, what happened to this process?

Canada to adopt new graphic warnings on 75% of the packs

While in Togo the Parliament has just abandoned the insertion of graphic warnings on the packs (one wonders why), the Canadian government has just announced there will be 16 new graphic warnings and each image will cover 75% of the pack. An example to follow. The picture above is of Barbara Tarbox, a cancer victim and tobacco control advocate who died on May 18, 2003 at 42: with this picture she continues her fight to incite people not to smoke. Thanks (once again) to Rob Cunningham who has provided most of the info and links. Happy new year to all.

Togo: the National Assembly votes the tobacco control act

On december 29 the new tobacco control act has been approved by the National Assembly. Details are available (in English) on the site of the NGO, ANCE- Pour un Togo Sans tabac.

The AllAfrica Foundation awarded a $2.3 million grant to produce more stories about efforts to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development: what about tobacco control?

Is tobacco control going to be part of the stories developed in the new media initiative in Africa funded by this new grant from the Gates Foundation?

Regina Benjamin, MD, Afro-American Surgeon General of the US would make great tobacco control spokeperson in Africa

The US Surgeon General just published a new report that calls for action against tobacco. Regina Benjamin who is the present Surgeon General (since July 2010) is a great lady physician from Alabama. She is also a Mac Arthur Foundation genius fellow. Beyond the very interesting content of the report she would be a great champion to promote tobacco control in Africa. 

 

Zambia: consensus meeting on the new tobacco control bill

Antitobacco advocates, government officials and representatives of the tobacco industry participated in a 2 day consensus meeting about the new tobacco control bill.

Source: Zambia Daily Mail, article by Darlington Mwendabai

African Tobacco Control Consortium Newsletter

The ATCC has published its first newsletter since its creation. It is a short document that repeats the main objectives of the Consortium but does not provide any substantial new information.

Who runs the organization? How are the decisions taken? Who are the 11 staff members? How is this $7 million budget (awarded by the Gates Foundation in November 2009) managed? Who are the recipients of the first grants since the first round was closed 5 months ago in August? Who are the members of the "selection committee" for those grants? How transparent and accountable is the Consortium going to be? Has an independent evaluator been appointed? Those are but a few of the questions that remain -for now- unanswered.

Uganda: the ban on smoking in public places is not enforced

A letter from Isaac Eyalama explains how the 2004 law that bans smoking in public places is not implemented. 

Source: The New Vision

The Gates Foundation's approach to giving: will it apply to the tobacco control grants?

How to measure progress is an interesting question and so is Adjust Strategy.

Deaths related to secondhand smoke exposure in Africa

Deaths related to secondhand smoke in Africa are estimated in a study published in the Lancet about global deaths linked to SHS. 

Across the countries of Africa assessed, an estimated 43 375 deaths due to passive smoking occurred in children, compared with 9514 in adults. The authors say: "Two-thirds of these deaths occur in Africa and south Asia. Children's exposure to second-hand smoke most likely happens at home. The combination of infectious diseases and tobacco seems to be a deadly combination for children in these regions and might hamper the efforts to reduce the mortality rate for those aged younger than 5 years as sought by Millennium Development Goal 4."

For full Article and Comment, see: http://press.thelancet.com/smoking.pdf

What stories can you tell about tobacco control in Africa?

Thaler Pekar explains the importance of telling good stories to spread our message. Do we see many such good stories about tobacco control in Africa? What about sharing your stories?

Smokescreen: an investigation about the tobacco industry lobbying tactics

This new report includes (so FCA says) a report about Nigeria but I was unable to find it. The way the presentation is designed makes it very difficult to refer to as no part of it can be pointed to with a specific url. On the ICIJ's site I could only find reports about Russia, Mexico and Uruguay. There are short comments about Nigeria. One wishes for an in depth investigation about the tobacco industry lobbying in Africa, especially after the offensive using the tobacco growers as a front. 

Malawi: tobacco versus development

In the FCA bulletin 110 (page 4) Laura Green (Berlin) and Marty Otanez (Denver) sign a very interesting article about the situation in Malawi and how to develop effective strategies to help exploited tobacco farmers.

Picture credit Marty Otanez

Richard Cohen: The faces behind the deadly tobacco addiction

Richard Cohen wrote this very interesting chronicle for the Washington Post about posting the faces of the cigarette companies  CEOs on the packs. There is a (non-scientific) poll along the article: are you in favor of this suggestion? last time I checked the Yes were at 62%. Do you have pictures of the CEOs in your country?

From COP4: in Ghana, government's promises remain to be implemented.

Current levels of tax levied on tobacco products in Ghana still mean cigarettes are cheap and easily accessible, even to minors. Tax revenue generated by tobacco sales falls far short of what the government spends on treating tobacco-related diseases.

Source: FCA Bulletin 109, article bu Issah Ali (page 8).

From COP4: in Kenya the new government tobacco control plan includes graphic warnings

The Kenyan Government has announced that spine-chilling images of throat cancer tumours and rotten teeth are to appear on cigarette packets before 2012, intended to shock smokers out of the habit.

Findings show that the enlarged health warnings that manufacturers put oncigarette packets over the past two years have had little effect. Only two per cent of middle-aged Kenyans are kicking the smoking habit every year, according to government research.

Source: FCA Bulletin 109, article by John Muchangi on page 2 (here in pdf format)

From COP4: Tobacco taxation and development in Sub Saharan Africa

This article by Nouréiny TCHA-KONDOR, economist and tax campaign coordinator for the Africa Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) was published in the bulletin 107 of the FCA during COP4 (here is the link to the whole bulletin in pdf format, the article is on page 6 )

A few news from COP4 from the FCA Bulletins and the list of participants

You can find a few news from COP4 in the FCA bulletins posted every day on their site. The first two issues contain no article devoted specifically to Africa but the industry strategy to use growers as a front is explained in details. If you want to look at the list of the COP4 participants, who is part of the official delegation and who among the NGO advocates is present, click here (pdf format). 

Ghana: Civil society shadow report on the implementation of the FCTC

The shadow report on tobacco control in Ghana produced by VALD was presented by its Executive Director, Mr Issa Ali.

Kenya: a "shadow report" shows the poor implementation of the law

The shadow report published by the Institute for Legislative Affairs (ILA) and presented by the Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance (KETCA) points to poor implementation of the ban on advertising, rise in youth prevalence, lack of pictorial warnings on the packs, lack of tax/price increases. 

Source: Business Daily article by George Omondi

ITGA continues its propaganda, admits to receive some "support" from the tobacco industry

The propaganda continues while COP4 is approaching. ITGA did not say what type of "support" they were getting, how much they receive from the tobacco industry. The admission is at the very bottom of the text.

Source: Reuters

Zambia: the government against the implementation of the FCTC

It looks like they signed it to lobby from the "inside" against the implementation of the FCTC treaty.

Source: The Zambian Chronicle

Google (again) wants to encourage digital journalism

From The Official Google Blog.

Can we use Google baraza?

Google has started an information service focused on Africa: Google Baraza. For now it is only available in English. Maybe it can be used to raise the awareness around tobacco control issues?

Inspiring article by Nicholas Kristof in the NYT

Title: D.I.Y Foreign Aid Revolution. Also his blog On the ground.

Kenya: BAT contests the smoking restrictions and the ad ban

Interesting article in Nairobi's Business Daily, by Mwangi Muiruri who details the lobbying arguments of BAT along with the antitobacco advocates answers. Illustrated with an original picture of a smoking area. 

A previous article about the Antitobacco Coalition in Kenya.

Tanzania: a presentation of the situation, a wish for a better enforcement of the legislation

an interesting article by Langa Saarakikya.

Source: The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)

Ouverture d'un blog distinct pour suivre l'actualité en français

Après plusieurs années de coexistence des langues anglaise et française sur le blog Tobacco Control in Africa il nous semble judicieux d'ouvrir un blog distinct uniquement en français, Vers une Afrique Sans Tabac, tandis que TCA deviendra uniquement anglophone. Une telle séparation (pas si éloignée car il suffit d'un clic pour aller de l'un à l'autre) nous permettra d'offir un meilleur confort de lecture et un environnement linguistique homogène. Qu'en pensez-vous?

OMS Bureau Régional pour l'Afrique: Aucune traduction disponible

Une petite visite sur la version française du site du Bureau Régional pour l'Afrique nous fait découvrir de nombreuses pages vierges sauf pour la mention "Aucune traduction disponible". Le seul contenu publié est en anglais. Est-ce normal?

RDC: Atelier de formation de journalistes à Kinshasa

Radio Okapi présente brièvement cet atelier de formation organisé par ATCRI (pour le Consortium Africain AntiTabac avec les fonds de la Fondation Gates). Il avait été précédé par des sessions similaires au Cameroun, Sénégal et Botswana.

The true size of Africa

Click here for details

CIFCOT 3: les présentations sont disponibles sur le site

Grâce à Pascal Diethelm, la liste des présentations effectuées lors de CIFCOT 3 est disponible sur le site. Merci Pascal.

Botswana: "If it wasn't for poverty I wouldn't sell cigarettes"

In this article Isaac Pinielo interviews smokers, vendors and health experts about their relation to smoking and the tobacco situation in Botswana

Source: Mmegi online

Consortium Africain de Lutte contre le Tabac: Découvrez leur nouveau site

La version Française du site contient encore malheureusement un nombre significatif de fautes d'orthographe et de syntaxe dont on ne peut que souhaiter la correction rapide afin de donner à cet effort d'information tout son éclat. 

African Tobacco Control Consortium: Discover their site Africa Tobacco Control Resource Center

The Africa Tobacco Control Resource Center presents the activities of the African Consortium that manages with the American Cancer Society the $7 million grant awarded by the Gates Foundation.

Ghana: VALD calls for early passage of Tobacco Bill.

Mr Massawudu of the VALD NGO made this statement to the Ghana News Agency in solidarity with the celebration of the 10th International Week of Resistance to Tobacco Transnationals across the globe.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Sénégal: le point focal dénonce le manque de statistiques fiables

Suite de l'atelier pour les journalistes mentionné hier.

Source: Afrique Actu

Sénégal: atelier de formation/information pour les journalistes

Un atelier d'information/formation a été organisé à Dakar par le Consortium Africain mais où est le site du Consortium avec de plus amples détails? Mystère. Rien sur le site d'ATCA (bien peu mis à jour et faiblement visité avec 2413 visites annoncées) ni sur le site d'ATCRI (dont la verson française est en panne depuis des mois).

Source: Walfadjiri L'Aurore

Blog Action Day 2010 is about Water

Change.org|Start Petition

More information on water.org

New graphic warnings in ... Chile. Why not in Cameroon or Kenya? or Madagascar?

Why not an All Africa campaign to push for graphic warnings? Mauritius is showing the way. 

IDRC: What happened to the database developed by the American Cancer Society?

Under the name "Coordination Support for International Tobacco Control Funder's Forum" IDRC provided CAD 14.420 to the American Cancer Society to compile a database of the projects funded to promote tobacco control in low and middle income countries. The one year project starting date was in September 2008 but it lasted until February 2010.

What happened to this database? Who can access it?

Tunisie: un internaute dénonce le non-respect des interdictions de fumer dans les lieux publics

Un an après son entrée en vigueur, le bilan de  la nouvelle législation interdisant le tabagisme sur les lieux  publics en Tunisie est loin d’être satisfaisant. En effet, outre l’effet d’annonce, il n’y a rien eu de vraiment concret. Quelques procès-verbaux par ci, par là et quelques remontrances, ailleurs. Mais sans réelle application de la loi qui date de 1998 et –dont paraît-il- les décrets d’application ne sont pas encore parus. Ce n’est pas grave, on a encore le temps !

Source: GNet

Gates Foundation gives $27 million to urban poor projects in 5 cities in Africa

As reported by Kristi Heim in her blog the Business of Giving. The cities concerned are the capitals of Egypt, Angola, malawi, Liberia and Zimbabwe. There is an interesting requirement: The projects will receive a portion of funding from the foundation every other month, contingent on providing detailed financial and activity reports to partners and to the Gates Foundation prior to each installment.

CIFCOT 3: les entretiens de Charles Dossou Ligan avec Eugène Gbedji et Chabani Bourhane

Charles Dossou Ligan publie ses entretiens avec Eugène Gbedji (ATSA-IDRC) et Chabani Bourhane (Comores) sur le site de CIFCOT 3.

Uganda: tobacco farmers are cutting too many trees

interesting article by Ibrahim Kasita on the New Vision site who echoes Lutgard's recent speech about deforestation caused by excessive tree cutting to provide fuel to cure their products. Several districts in the West Nile region plan to make by-laws to protect the forest and and make tree planting compulsory.

Lutgard Kagaruki's acceptance speech of the 2010 WHO Award

Lutgard delivers a very interesting speech (Google Doc) focusing on the fate of tobacco farmers and how they can develop alternative crops along with a detailed analysis of the tobacco industry strategy.

CIFCOT 3: les représentants du Bénin interrogés par Charles Dossou Ligan

Sur le site de la conférence, Charles Dossou Ligan partage le contenu de ses entretiens avec Judith Sègnon et Augustin Fatou.

Google Africa Blog: Faites analyser votre site internet!

Source: Blog de Google Afrique
Au cours de ces derniers mois j'ai eu l'opportunité de rencontrer beaucoup de webmasters africains – à partir du G-Ghana à Accra jusqu'à Kampala et Nairobi. Votre intérêt dans la recherche organique et dans le développement des sites web a été tout simplement incroyable, et a offert une motivation supplémentaire pour continuer nos conversations à un autre niveau, avec un rendez-vous régulier avec les webmasters sur le blog de Google Afrique.

Tanzania: Lutgard Kagaruki officially presented with her WHO WNTD 2010 Award.

Lutgard is Executive Secretary of the Tanzania Tobacco Control Forum. Here is how she tells the story: The WHO WNTD 2010 Award was presented to me yesterday 29^th September 2010. It was a very colourful ceremony with more than 250 health experts, development partners and other government officials who had gathered for the Joint Annual Health Sector Review Main Meeting. Family and TTCF members also attended. The Health Minister presented the award after a brief introduction from the WHO country rep.

The report from The Guardian and Lutgard's Acceptance speech.