SOMALIA: Burkas to tracksuits

Photo: Phil Moore/IRIN

Going for gold: Female runners at Mogadishu’s shelled-out Konis Stadium

MOGADISHU,  – The Somali Athletics Federation will select one female runner from a field of 10 to compete in the 400-metres at this year’s London Olympics. The youngest of those currently training in Mogadishu is Najma, 10. She started running six months ago, shortly after Al-Shabab left the city. “My father encouraged me,” said Najma.

She knows she is lucky – most girls in Somalia do not enjoy such freedom. The head coach of the Athletics Federation, Ahmed Ali Abikar, said it is very difficult for female athletes in Mogadishu to train. “Society doesn’t understand about sport for girls. They cannot train everywhere, they are teased. But they know why they’re doing it,” he said.

Najma and Leila, 15, meet every Saturday to race around the 400m track at the bullet-ridden Konis Stadium in downtown Mogadishu, a city which until August 2011 was occupied by Al-Shabab insurgents. Leila, a slight and self-possessed young woman with a bright red scarf covering her hair and glittering gold earrings, remembers a time when she had to conceal her tracksuit beneath a burka until she was in a secure compound where it was safe to run. “The stadiums were closed because of the fighting”, she said.

Leila has been training for three years and says she has always been interested in sport – something which both the mayor of Mogadishu and the prime minister of Somalia regularly express their desire to promote. She says girls in Mogadishu can now choose from basketball, handball and athletics. “When I’m running, I’m happy. It gives me real pleasure”, she said.

Determined girls like Leila are staking their claim to freedom and choice. 

Nick Birnback, spokesperson for the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), agrees that change is in the air. Following the decision to grant women 30 percent representation in parliament, he said many had sought advice from UNPOS to understand their rights and request support. “They’re willing to be really engaged in the political process knowing that the context of Mogadishu is a very hard environment,” he said.

At a February conference in Garowe, the administrative capital of Puntland, the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) convened the second in a string of UNPOS-facilitated meetings to work towards the completion of, and transition to, a new constitution by 20 August 2012. Currently women have 12 percent representation in government, but it was agreed that in the new federal parliament of Somalia they will have at least 30 percent.

“Historic” Women’s Day celebrations

The head of the Somali Women’s Federation, Asha Omar, is another determined character. She was responsible for organizing Women’s Day celebrations in Mogadishu this year. Omar returned to Somalia two years ago after 21 years in Sweden. “We are the peace-lords, we’re working hard,” she said. “It’s the men who left their work – they’re just fighting between themselves. Everyone wants to be a president. I tell them, be a president in your own home.”

Omar says decades of male migration and drought have promoted women to non-traditional roles; many now are at the head of their families. “Women have no tribes, they have families”, she explained, adding that Somali women lose their ties to the clan structure on marriage.

However, on women running for parliamentary office, Omar warned that because the clan structure has no tradition of female leadership, it will be a case of the men choosing for them, perpetuating inequality.

Photo: Phil Moore/IRIN

“We are the peace-lords, we’re working hard

Abdi Hosh, TFG minister for constitution, described this year’s Women’s Day celebrations as historic. “It was the first such event I ever observed in Somalia; it was the first such event held at the venue in 21 years, as it was being used by IDPs [internally displaced persons], and it was significant for me because I fought for 30 percent membership for women in the next parliament,” he said.

The city centre was awash with the vibrant colours of ceremonial outfits, hand-painted signs and flags, with many wearing matching turquoise and white dresses in the print of the Somali flag. “We are wearing the same dresses to show we are organized”, said Hawa, a 22-year-old from Mogadishu, at the celebrations.

A long way to go

But a source at the Ministry for Information described the move towards 30 percent representation in parliament as a “gesture”. He called for action: economic empowerment such as loans for women, mandatory education for girls, a legal framework to promote equal rights and “a sensible reinterpretation” of social, traditional and religious norms. 

Many of the women entering politics in Mogadishu now are either from the diaspora, or have spent time in Nairobi – like Omar.

While some women are returning to Somalia, many are still moving away. Ahmed Ali Abikar, the athletics coach, has dealt with the disappointment of promising runners moving abroad to seek better opportunities. 

Samia Yusuf Omar, the girl he trained to run for Somalia at the Beijing Olympics, now lives in Ethiopia having made contacts abroad through her training with the Somali team. Mo Farah, one of Britain’s top Olympic hopes whose family fled Mogadishu shortly before the fall of the Said Barre’s regime, is perhaps the most high profile example of this.

Osman, a 66-year-old security guard at Konis Stadium, says he has not missed one day of work in the last 21 years, and has bandages covering the bullet wounds on his left arm and right ankle to show for it. He will be watching Somalia’s Olympic runners on TV and firmly believes sport for females will continue to win acceptance. “They can’t help but play,” he said, of the young girls and boys who use the track. “It’s good for everyone.” 

Somalia has been caught up in a devastating 20-year civil war. Al Shabab militants have threatened to carry on their war against the government and the African Union despite having been evicted from much of Mogadishu and losing territory to Kenyan and Ethiopian troops in the south: Two top Somali sports officials were among at least six killed by a suicide bomber in a Mogadishu theatre in early April.

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PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Violence and belief in magic raise risk of HIV for women

Photo: David Swanson/IRIN

Women are particularly vulnerable to HIV

PORT MORESBY,  (PlusNews) – High levels of sexual violence and a cultural belief in witchcraft are putting an increasing number of women at risk of HIV in Papua New Guinea (PNG), health experts say.

According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), PNG accounts for most of the 30,000 reported cases of people living with HIV in the Pacific region, around 59 percent of which are women.

“This might be due to most HIV surveillance data coming from antenatal clinics where pregnant women are tested, a [genuine] high incidence among women, or both,” Stuart Watson, UNAIDS country director told IRIN.

PNG’s HIV prevalence of 0.9 percent is the highest among Pacific region countries.

Violence contributing to HIV

However, gender inequality is proving a major driver in the spread of HIV. “The low status of women in the community makes them prone to violence – sexual and otherwise,” Watson said. 

Gender-based violence is widespread among the country’s 6.5 million ethnically divided inhabitants.

The PNG Law Reform Commission reported that 70 percent of women had been physically abused by their husbands, and in some parts of the country the number reaches 100 percent.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) estimated that 50 percent of women in PNG have experienced forced sex in their lifetime.

Abused girls at higher risk of HIV

A UNAIDS study found strong links between gender-based violence and HIV infection, and noted that the first sexual encounter of many girls was forced. “These circumstances make it extremely difficult to negotiate condom use. The trauma of experiencing abuse usually sets off a pattern of unsafe sexual practices,” Watson said.

The report also found that women who had been sexually abused as children, or experienced sexual abuse by an intimate partner, were twice as likely to test positive for HIV than those who had not.

Adding to the HIV risk that women are exposed to, it is common practice for men to have multiple sexual partners and wives. “Polygamy is an accepted practice,” said Ume Wainetti, head of the Family Sexual Violence Centre (FSVC) in PNG.

“Older men take on a younger bride because they think she is “clean” [free of HIV infection]. “Some girls also become victims of gang rapes, known as ‘line-ups’,” Wainetti said.

Witchcraft and other cultural practices

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International reported that “puri-puri” or “sanguma”, a traditional belief in witchcraft and magic, is widely practised in remote communities and highland provinces, and is often “a pretext for brutal acts of violence against women who are accused of being a witch and spreading HIV.”

“Sorcery is still practiced,” said John [not his real name], an office employee in the capital, Port Moresby. “People buy spells to avenge transgressions, or if someone gets sick and they don’t know how to explain it, they say it is due to sorcery – it’s a much easier explanation for many. Sometimes you need someone to blame [for a death].”

The Amnesty report also noted that women are six times more likely to be accused of witchcraft than men. Under the 1971 Sorcery Act of PNG, it is a criminal act punishable by up to two years in prison.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Rashida Manjoo, ended her week-long visit to the country in March by calling for the government to repeal the act.

“I was shocked to witness the brutality of the assaults perpetrated against suspected sorcerers, which in many cases include torture, rape, mutilations and murder. Any misfortune or death within the community can be used as an excuse to accuse such person of being a sorcerer,” Manjoo said.

Watson pointed out that “The belief in sorcery makes for little health-seeking behaviour, and this makes matters worse, especially for women.”

According to Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), HIV is one of the biggest developmental challenges facing this mineral-rich nation.

If HIV continues to spread at its current rate, AusAID estimates that over half a million Papua New Guineans will be living with HIV by 2025.

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source www.irinnews.org

Photo: Edgar Mwakaba/IRIN

Misspent money

JOHANNESBURG,  – Grantees of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria who allegedly committed fraud or misused funds unwittingly did a lot of damage to the Fund – and, many say, global health – as donors withdrew and the beleaguered organization faced a “crisis of confidence” in recent years. But the Fund has responded and is undergoing an extensive restructuring process. IRIN/PlusNews takes a look at some of the alleged fraudsters and the progress of the investigations.

2009 – Mali 

Alleged culprits: Malian Ministry of Health, National Control Programme against TB, National Council for the Fight Against AIDS, and the National Programme for the Fight Against Malaria.

Allegations: In December 2010 the Global Fund announced that it had suspended two malaria grants with immediate effect, and had terminated a third TB grant after it found evidence of misappropriation and unjustified expenditure.

The Fund found that at least US$5.2 million in disbursements related to HIV, TB and malaria had been misappropriated and little money was dedicated to purchasing medicines. Organizations pilfered funds using fraudulent invoices, per diem payments and training events. The Fund’s investigation revealed that organizations often colluded with the Ministry of Health and national TB and malaria control programmes to falsify invoices, signatures, bank statements and official stamps, which were discovered buried in someone’s garden.

By December 2010, the Malian authorities had arrested 15 people in connection with the allegations and the Ministry of Health had repaid $304,000. Due to possible threats against Global Fund staff, the US government provided them with protection.

The investigation into the mismanagement of HIV funds was still ongoing in July 2011.

2009 –  Mauritania

Alleged culprits: The national AIDS committee, the national TB programme, two NGO networks, ROMATUB and RNLPV, the National Institute for Public Health.

Allegations: In July 2009 the Global Fund suspended funding to the executive secretariat of the national AIDS committee after finding evidence of fraudulent and unjustified expenditures. The Fund demanded the reimbursement of $1.7 million within three months, and immediate removal of the people identified as being responsible.

Fake receipts, invoices and companies had been used to defraud the Fund since 2004. According to audits by the Fund’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG), various local oversight bodies had failed to bring this to the Global Fund’s attention.

Officials of the national AIDS committee also instituted a kickback scheme that required payments of up to 50 percent of a grant from the NGO sub-recipient as a pre-condition for participation in Global Fund programmes. Sub-recipients were also forced to issue invoices for bogus training or expenses and then return this money to the national AIDS committee. Witnesses said this was a long-running practice at the national body and pre-dated Global Fund support.

The NGO network, ROMATUB, was an implementing partner in Global Fund tuberculosis programmes. The Fund found that the network charged for work never completed. It submitted photographs of the same people in the same locations as proof of nationwide community outreach work supposedly carried out in different villages.

The Mauritanian government cooperated in the investigations, refunding $1.7 million and arresting four national AIDS committee officials. The executive director of the national AIDS committee and all employees working on Global Fund grants were removed.

As of March 2012, the Fund did not know whether those arrested had been brought to trial, as prosecutions had not yet commenced by July 2011. According to the OIG, national law enforcement agents had not communicated with the Fund since 2009.

The OIG has recommended that any further disbursements to Mauritania be conditional upon the completion of all related criminal inquiries, and those convicted serving sentences.

Mauritania, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Mali and Papua New Guinea have been placed on an “Additional Safeguards Policy” list. Countries on this list are subjected to closer scrutiny and restrictions on financial transactions relating to grants. 

2009 - Zambia

Alleged culprits: Zambian Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance, Zambian National AIDS Network (ZNAN).

Allegations: After reports by a whistle-blower of fraud in Zambia’s Ministry of Health (MoH) in 2009, the Global Fund – with help from Zambia’s Office of the Auditor General – found that the ministry had misspent $6.7 million. The Ministry of Finance and National Planning had similarly misspent about $3 million and one of its accountants had defrauded the Global Fund of about $104,000.

The Fund also allegedly uncovered fraud and misuse in the Zambian National AIDS Network, then headed by former UN Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa Elizabeth Mataka. The Global Fund audit of ZNAN highlighted financial mismanagement that included the purchase of cars for personal use by ZNAN management, exorbitant salaries that were sometimes more than double the local sector standard, and the disbursement of funds to sub-recipients who could not provide auditors with financial records, as in the case of disbursements to the Maureen Mwanawasa Community Initiative, headed by Zambia’s former First Lady.

The Global Fund subsequently suspended grants to all these organizations and stripped the MoH of its Principal Recipient status, transferring this responsibility to the Zambia country office of the UNDP. The change in Principle Recipient led to major delays in the distribution of funds and stock-outs of antiretroviral (ARV) and TB drugs for treating this common co-infection.

In August 2011 Zambian HIV activists delivered a petition to the national AIDS council, demanding that government seize some of ZNAN’s assets in order to repay the money, and that government move to pay back some of the money on the organization’s behalf – as it had done for the Ministry of Health.

2010 - Nigeria 

Alleged culprits: Yakubu Gowon Centre for National Unity and International Cooperation, Christian Health Association of Nigeria.

Allegations: The Global Fund alleges that the Yakubu Gowon Centre misappropriated funds and exchanged $22 million of Global Fund money for Naira, the Nigerian currency, on the black market. At least one party involved in the transactions allegedly had previous links to money laundering, fraud and conflict diamonds. The Christian Health Association of Nigeria also engaged in black market currency trading.

As a result of the Yakubu Gowon Centre’s transactions between 2005 and 2009, about $825,000 in Global Fund money for malaria programming was lost, according to a Global Fund OIG investigation report, which recommended that the Fund immediately terminate the Centre as a Principle Recipient for its grants and bar it from any future participation in Global Fund programmes.

When asked, the Yakubu Gowon Centre could not account for missing funds. In a written response to the Global Fund’s investigation report, the Centre said the allegedly missing funds had gone to operational expenses, management fees, maintenance and salaries. Despite documentation demonstrating the contrary, the centre denied allegations that it had used the black market to exchange currency.

In June 2011 the Yakubu Gowon Centre was replaced as a Principle Recipient. Accounting firm KMPG, which was supposed to provide in-country financial oversight, was also relieved of its position with the Global Fund.

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source www.irinnews.org