The News Review:

- Deadly detour on journey to help others
- Awareness Times News Briefs from Sierra Leone
- Five-Day Training for Mid-Wives and Nurses in Sierra Leone
- … Civil Society Groups to observe Activism Against Gender…
- West Africa: Region’s English Speaking Health Sector Trade Unions…

Deadly detour on journey to help others
Toronto Star – Nov 29, 2007
Then I couldn’t keep my food down. Everything I ate or drank, I threw up. I knew Sierra Leone was a hotbed for malaria but it took two visits to the doctor before I decided to get a blood test. I was shocked when the test was positive for the most serious of the four strains of malaria. Since my arrival in Sierra Leone, West Africa, I had been taking all the recommended precautions – sleeping under a net, using bug spray, covering up my arms and legs in the evenings and taking a daily dose of the anti-malarial drug doxycycline. Soon, nights became unbearable. My temperature bounced between 38C and 39C…
I knew Sierra Leone was a hotbed for malaria but it took two visits to the doctor before I decided to get a blood test. I was shocked when the test was positive for the most serious of the four strains of malaria. Since my arrival in Sierra Leone, West Africa, I had been taking all the recommended precautions – sleeping under a net, using bug spray, covering up my arms and legs in the evenings and taking a daily dose of the anti-malarial drug doxycycline. Soon, nights became unbearable. My temperature bounced between 38C and 39C. Each day, I would tell my flat-mates to be careful when they left for work.

Awareness Times News Briefs from Sierra Leone
Awareness Times – Nov 29, 2007
The gifts were provided to the about 351 children under the ‘Change War Amputee Reintegration and Empowerment’ project of the society. The project which in sponsored by the Swiss Red Cross also undertook the payment of school charges for both JSS and SSS students in the selected districts. Aspen Cigarette dealers launch raffle promotionThe Management of Aspen Cigarettes, one of the leading brands in the country has reportedly launched a raffle promotion draw for boat owners and controllers.

Five-Day Training for Mid-Wives and Nurses in Sierra Leone
Awareness Times – Nov 29, 2007
Sesay Nov 29, 2007, 19:26. sl%2Fdrwebsite%2Fpublish%2Farticle_20057057.

… Civil Society Groups to observe Activism Against Gender…
Awareness Times – Nov 29, 2007
The theme for this year’s commemoration is ‘Demanding implementation, challenging obstacles: End Violence against women’. In a press statement, the Chief Information Officer of UNIOSIL, Christian Strohmann disclosed that the activity-laden event will be conducted under the umbrella of the Coalition on Women’s Rights in Sierra Leone starting the 25th November to end on the 10th December 2007, the International Human Rights day ‘thus creating a symbolic link between violence against women and human rights violations. Lined up activities include awareness raising workshops on the three Gender Acts-the demotic Violence Act, the Devolution of Estates Act and the Registration of Customary Marriage and Divorce Act recently adopted by the House of Parliament. There will also be radio discussion programmes, a fund raising dinner and solidarity walk all geared towards drawing the attention of policy makers and implementers to the need for protection mechanisms for victims of gender based violence and respect for women’s and human rights…
There will also be radio discussion programmes, a fund raising dinner and solidarity walk all geared towards drawing the attention of policy makers and implementers to the need for protection mechanisms for victims of gender based violence and respect for women’s and human rights. The activities are slated for various venues in the provincial hubs of Bo, Makeni and Kenema, including Freetown, the capital city. The release further states that after Sierra Leone shall have submitted its initial country report to the UN on the convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), women activities will use the opportunity of the 16 days of activism campaign to urge the government to raise the human and financial capacities of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs. This in turn will adequately equip the ministry to fully implement the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security; and country specific recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. This year’s UN Secretary General’s message marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is ‘a violation of human rights always a crime and hence always unacceptable. ‘ ‘Let us take the issue with the deadly seriousness that it deserves not only on this day, but every day,’ the statement concludes. © Copyright by Awareness Times Newspaper in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

West Africa: Region’s English Speaking Health Sector Trade Unions…
AllAfrica.com – Nov 29, 2007
The new body, the West African Health Sector Trade Unions Network (WAHSUN) – was formed in Abuja Nigeria a week ago after two-day meeting by the constituent unions with observers from Tanzania and the Public Services International (PSI) Africa and the Arab Countries Regional Secretariat. GA_googleFillSlot(“AllAfrica_Story_Inset”); A communiqué of the meeting released by the Ghana's Health Services Workers' Union (HSWU) here today, explained that the delegates took the decision after extensive discursions on the health systems of the countries in the Sub-region which called for concerted effort from all well-meaning inhabitants of the ECOWAS and Member-states. They attributed the state of affairs to various factors especially to lack of people focused approach to policies and implementation which created inadequate trained health personnel that has further been worsened by alarming poor working conditions and wages which have further impacted negatively on their output in health delivery ultimately. Deploring the impact of trained migrant health personnel from the sub-region, the delegates called for equitable remuneration to curb the trend.