Tobacco Control in Africa - TCA

Are companies using study tours to promote smoking?

ATCA tweets about this article in New Vision (Uganda) by Jonathan Driliga. I don't know about promoting smoking but it looks like this factory is polluting the environment and its neighbors :(

Tobacco Control capacity building program launched in Kampala ,Uganda

On the 24^th October 2018, a high-level stakeholder engagement meeting was held at the Kampala Golden Tulip Hotel, where GCRF tobacco control capacity program and the Center for Tobacco control in Africa (CTCA) launched the tobacco control capacity-building programme (TCCP) in Uganda.

Links to the factsheets for the most recent GATS done by CDC in Africa

GATS Nigeria 2012

 

GATS Cameroon 2013

 

GATS Uganda 2013

 

GATS Kenya 2014

 

GATS Senegal 2015

 

GATS Ethiopia 2016

 

New tobacco control law passed in Uganda

As presented on CTFK's blog.

CTCA: What's next?

What's the relationship between CTCA and ABCF going to be? The respective leaders met in August in Kampala. What's next? What about the other organizations/groups that used to be funded by the Gates Foundation?

4 grants from the Bloomberg Initiative to Ghana, Togo and Uganda

Visiting the Bloomberg Initiative's site we discover 4 grants awarded in May, June and july 2014. All are provided to groups that were already regularly funded in Togo ($100,293), Ghana ($80K) and Uganda ($32K and $75K). See the details below.

Uganda: US aid cancelled because of anti-gay repression.

The White House announced cuts in aid to Uganda. Potential consequences for the tobacco control programs based in Uganda?

NewYork Review of Books: 2 articles about Uganda

The New York Review of Books published in April 2014, 2 articles by Helen Epstein: Murder in Uganda and The General Challenges the Dictator. Anything to be concerned about?

What's next for the CTCA?

WHO received in December 2009, $9.994.093 for a 5 year project centered around the creation of a 'hub'.
The search for the country where the 'hub' would be installed was organized by the same DC based firm that was put in charge of its design and 'independent' evaluation. The announced budget for the 'hub' was to be about $3.5 million (less than 35% of the global grant) according to the document published in April 2010. The CTCA was inaugurated on... November 1, 2011 (the director had been recruited in September 2011).
The 'first phase' of the WHO project is supposed to end, according to this document (at the bottom) in two months, in July 2014. What's next? Is the Gates Foundation going to continue its funding? at what level? for how long?

Bloomberg Initiative 2014: 4 grants to DRC, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda.

The Bloomberg Initiative has funded 4 projects in Africa since the beginning of 2014, in DRC ($80K), Kenya ($60K), Uganda ($18K), Ghana ($20K) for a total of $178K. All are linked to support passing legislation or implementing existing regulations.

The truth is out: Science misused by Uganda Government

All our support for the Ugandan scientists who spoke out.

How much is Makere University involved in the anti-gay legislation in Uganda?

Looking at the press release presenting the support of 'scientists' in favor of the anti-gay legislation in Uganda one cannot but notice the presence of several faculty members of Makerere University. In this context can organisations concerned with human rights keep collaborating and funding Makerere University? What do international funders of Makerere University intend to do? Nothing? A recent summary of the situation, an opinon from the Kenyan Star and the official Ugandan position according to Reuters that also mentions Uganda is not the only African country with anti-gay legislation.

Looking for bloggers in Uganda

The Textochange group in Kampala is looking for bloggers to blog about tobacco control. An interesting initiative but they don't tell if there is any financial incentive/compensation for the bloggers to blog?

Monitoring team thwarts tobacco industry interference in Uganda (from FCTC.org)

ATCA's Patrick Musavuli discusses tobacco industry monitoring. (c) Tih Ntiabang

From FCTC.org

A specially trained team of tobacco control advocates has prevented the tobacco industry from getting a suggested tobacco tax increase in Uganda reduced.

The Ministry of Finance had proposed increasing Uganda’s excise tax duty on cigarettes by 45.5 percent in the 2013-14 budget. When the matter was discussed in Parliament’s Finance Committee, the industry submitted a petition calling for an increase of just 11.4 percent.

CTCA's annual performance review June 24-27

From the CTCA's site this self-congratulatory presentation of their second annual performance review that does not tell us anything specific that we did not already know but probably cost a bundle. Who cares at WHO? Nobody as nobody outside of WHO is allowed to look at the cost effectiveness of the programs. Just try to get the detailed annual budget for the CTCA or the cost of this annual performance review...

Most recent grants from CTFK - Bloomberg Initiative for Kenya, Togo and Uganda

Grants for programs in Kenya,Togo and Uganda (see details below). The grant for Kenya amounts to $49.380, the grant to Togo to $152.963 while 4 grants to Uganda total $456.440.

ITGA and COMESA about tobacco production ban and sustainable alternative crops

The International Tobacco  Growers’ Association (ITGA) has welcomed the Common Market for Eastern  and Southern Africa (Comesa) decision to oppose the total ban of tobacco  production without offering sustainable alternative crops. From Zimdiaspora

Job opening: Tobacco Control Advisor at CTCA (Makerere University in Kampala)

Read the ad and apply before November 30.

Uganda: a new $120K grant from CTFK-Bloomberg Initiative

Visiting the Bloomberg Initiative site I find that the Ugandan Ministry of Health was awarded $120K in September to develop a "national tobacco control strategic plan". See below for a few more details. As of today, according to the information available, $272.724 have been awarded in 2012 by the Initiative to 4 African projects. That's a big drop compared to the previous years. Most of the recipients are organizations that had already been funded: what about all the other groups and countries? Any support for Guinea where advocates just succeed in advancing a new Tobacco Control Act (in French) or Senegal where they keep pushing and communicating (also in French).

Uganda: British American Tobacco profits are up

Read this article in The Observer.

Uganda: Anti-tobacco bill tabled in Parliament

Nelson Wesonga's article in the Daily Monitor about this initiative to update the Tobacco Control and Marketing Act of 1967.
Source: Daily Monitor

Uganda: The Journey from the Farm to the Lungs: Who gains from Tobacco in Africa?

Interesting article by Henry Zacumumpa about a public lecture titled, ‘The Journey from the Farm to the Lungs: Who gains from Tobacco in Africa?’ that took place on November 1st in Kampala.
Source: The Observer

Uganda: Inauguration of the CTCA

Visiting the site of the Tobacco Free Initiative about the inauguration of the Center for Tobacco Control in Africa on November 1, we find this link to the presentation given by Cynthia Lewis,  senior program officer for the Gates Foundation.

CTCA: The Center for Tobacco Control in Africa visited by IDRC

IDRC would be considering a partnership with CTCA.

The 10 countries the Consortium works with

The Africa Tobacco Control Consortium works in 10 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa. These countries include Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Zambia, The Gambia, Gabon, Senegal, Uganda and Congo Brazzaville. You can learn more about our project activities in these countries. For update on our project in the individual countries, please click on the country name below: Updates on our In-Country Projects

Projects in Republic of Benin   ( 0 Articles ) Projects in Botswana   ( 0 Articles ) Projects in Algeria   ( 0 Articles ) Projects in Cameroun   ( 0 Articles ) Projects in Zambia   ( 0 Articles ) Projects in Sierra Leone   ( 0 Articles ) Projects in Gambia   ( 0 Articles ) Projects in Congo Brazaville   ( 0 Articles ) Projects in Senegal   ( 0 Articles ) Projects in Gabon   ( 0 Articles ) Projects in Uganda   ( 0 Articles )

 

Uganda: plenty of pictures of the capacity building workshop on Facebook

Here. Any question?

Uganda: Dr. Possy Mugyenyi urges the government to pass a tobacco control law

Dr. Possy Mugyenyi, previously manager of the Uganda National Expansion Programme on Immunisation and now manager of the newly created Center for Tobacco Control in Africa made a presentation on September 21 at the All for Health One Health conference . See the pdf documents here page 1 and page 2. Read also on Facebook about the visit and 3 day capacity building workshop conducted by ATCC.

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

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.

Uganda: how the tobacco farms increase the deforestation

In an article in the East African, Hamina Abdallah describes the gloomy environmental impact of the tobacco farms in Uganda. Apparently BAT declined to comment about those destructive practices.

Uganda: Tobacco Farmers Deplete Trees

The cutting of trees for tobacco-curing, and charcoal-burning have contributed to the depletion of trees in West Nile, the Arua district forest officer, Edison Adiribo, has said.

He said tobacco, the region's major cash crop, requires large quantities of wood fuel to cure, and has forced farmers to indiscriminately cut down trees.
Source: AllAfrica

Uganda: stronger warnings on packs

The warning that manufacturers are to imprint on packets within the next six months will read, Cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, heart diseases and death” as opposed to the current warning, Cigarette smoking can be harmful to your health. Dr Terry Kahuma, the executive director of UNBS in a letter to the ministers of Health and Trade, said the alert would be carried in English and Kiswahili.
Source: Daily Monitor

Uganda tobacco farmers win suit against BAT

BRITISH American Tobacco Uganda (BATU) has been ordered to pay over sh3b to tobacco farmers as compensation for failure to buy their crop.
As found on the blog of Jackie Tumwine :)

Uganda: Does the Law On Smoking in Public Still Exist?

Why there is such a need for public interest litigation when the government does not care about enforcing the law.