16 Aids international conference held in Canada!

US president Clinton, Crown princess of Norway Mette-Marit and professor Ruth Nduati of Kenya were among leaders and professionals that attended the 16 Aids international conference in Toronto, Canada held recently.

In the year 2002 Clinton established the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHIA) to help countries in the fight against HIV/AIDS through treatment and prevention.

The foundation has entered into agreement with companies that produce HIV/AIDS medicine, an agreement that has reduced the cost of purchasing medicine by countries included in the broad-based program to fight the disease. The price of medicine has been reduced by 30 percent due to Clinton’s initiative. Clinton’s foundation cooperates with many countries.

Mr Clinton praised the conference’s success in his speech to the delegates.

Speaking at the same venue, Professor Ruth Nduati told the audience that there is always something that can be done for the suffering children due to HIV/AIDS that has either made them to become orphans, or sick having been infected by their parents.

She stated that over 16 million children are affected by the situation and needed urgent attention from the international community.

In a book she is co-writer titled “pedriatic AIDS in Africa, 2004”, she points out strategies to safeguard new-born babies who are infected or those in the risky group.

She told the conference that over 700 000 children got the disease last year, 14 percent of the total infected world-wide, an addition to over 14 million children who are orphans, because the disease has claimed their parents.

In Norway, like many other countries, the disease continues to claim lives. Many men and women choose to have sex without protection, and most of them do so under the influence of alcohol. In other countries, it is the culture of having many wives or partners that causing the spreading of  the disease.

The spreading of HIV is high within the groups that travel a lot, because some tourist do not care engaging in unprotected sex when they are far away from home, only to go back home later and infect their partners.

By Korir, APN

africanpress@chello.no

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African parents in Norway

After African Press – Norway, brought statistics on the number of Africans in Norway, it has been interesting to note that many have started getting interested in being involved in different things that happen around them.

In a comment posted yesterday on our site by Mr Ira Ndunda, he has made a point clear on “parent” interest and being involved in what happens around the immigrant children in Norway.

We agree with him as far as he states that parents of immigrant generation should be brought into responsibility on what is going on around them and their off-springs.

On statistics, it is rately quoted on immigrant involvement in football. We acknowledge, support his point of view, and we want to add that African parents must wake up and get involved in what goes on around their children in school.

Many African children struggle to get through in school because some parents are not in a position to support them with school work.

You find many parents never turn up when called upon to appear in school activities that benefit their children.

We bring this point to our readers because Mr Ndunda has started a good debate on immigrant involvement in children activities.

We will, in our next focus on Africans and development in Norway- bring to our readers analysis on the kind of activities that we think African families in Norway should actively be involved in, so that their children may be able in the future to manage their lives successfully in this society, without having to be dependants of state hand-outs.

By Korir, APN

africanpress@chello.no