Incorrect conceptions about Africa are common in the West. Some TV shows and media news communicate an erroneous image of Africa to their citizens despite a powerful tool of research, such as the Internet, which holds much accurate information. Western media typically only covers the negative aspects of Africa, and TV programs display the lack of knowledge about other cultures. Here are five typical fallacies about Africa.

Africa is a country. Many citizens around the globe mistakenly categorize Africa as a country. But Africa is a continent, which has 54 independent countries each with their own currency, flag, anthem, food, music, and history. Africa is home to 1 billion inhabitants, who belong to 3,000 different ethnic groups There are thousands of indigenous languages and dialects spoken. Africa’s size is three times bigger than the USA.

Africa is unsafe. It is true that there are conflicts, civil wars, and pirates who kidnap tourists in some countries. But if bigger cities like New York, Madrid, London were rated by their crime rates, not many tourists would visit them. Violent crime against visitors in most African countries is uncommon. In the last two years the Travel State Department in the US has issued countries which are considered risky to travel for American citizens. These are the African countries to avoid: Libya, Kenya, Chad, Burundi, Eritrea, Somalia, Central African Republic, Cote D´Ivoire, Nigeria, Sudan, Republic of Sudan, Congo, Mali, Mauritania, Guinea and Niger.

Africa is extremely poor. Many visitors will be shocked with the poor conditions around them. The problem of the African continent is the distribution of wealth, where there is a lack of middle class (people are either very rich or very poor) in many countries. Many African countries such as Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria and South Africa have many natural resources, good education systems and developed business areas.

Africa has many diseases. The lack of babyhood vaccination programs and basic health care take millions of African lives every year. But that is not the case for tourists, who are up to date with the vaccines recommended by their origin countries. The most common immunizations are Hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella and polio. The way to avoid malaria is to take prophylactics and sleep under a mosquito net.

African politicians are corrupt and incompetent. There are some African countries that are not well governed, just like in Europe and the Americas; and there are many countries that are democratic and well-led which are experiencing economic progress. On the other hand, there are also democratic countries that are not growing, and non-democratic countries that are developing.

Many political crises in Africa can be blamed on colonial legacy, but most of it reveals political power and corruption on the part of incumbent presidents and political parties. To characterize all of Africa based on outliers like Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe, would be like generalizing about Europe based on Berlusconi, the Former Prime Minister Italy.  Nelson Mandela showed the world that Africa is capable of producing an honest leader.

Image Courtesy of   meunierd / Shutterstock.com

The article Fallacies About Africa appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

New York, U.S.A. – Wednesday April 25 on World Malaria Day, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) named the United Against Malaria (UAM) campaign an official social program of the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations, being held in South Africa early next year.

Although preventable and treatable, malaria kills a child in Africa every 60 seconds. By tapping into the popularity and excitement surrounding Africa’s signature tournament, CAF and UAM have partnered to disseminate life-saving malaria prevention and treatment messages to millions of fans across the continent.

“In order for Africa to compete on the global football pitch, we must have players and communities that are free of malaria,” said Mr. Hicham El Amrani, secretary general of CAF. “We are committed to using the popularity of the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations tournament to raise awareness and increase the fight against this devastating disease.”

With CAF’s support, UAM will develop and distribute local and pan-African public service announcements (PSAs), delivered by African football stars, to educate millions of African football fans about malaria prevention and treatment. Research has shown that audiences retain and act on these messages more often when delivered by their football heroes.

“Football has the most passionate fan base in the world, and during the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations, we have an opportunity to channel that energy toward social good,” said Mr. Leodegar Tenga, executive committee member of CAF and president of the Tanzanian Football Federation. “Through our partnership with United Against Malaria, we create a platform where fans not only remember the football skill on the pitch but the important messages that will help protect them and their loved ones from malaria.”

The endorsement from CAF, which oversees the football activities of more than 50 African countries, represents an unprecedented opportunity to reach malaria-endemic populations. Building on the success of past football tournaments, such as the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the 2011 CECAFA Tusker Challenge Cup in Tanzania, UAM will also encourage the African private sector and political leadership to to play a greater role in stopping global malaria deaths, 91 percent of which occur in Africa.

“We are honored to have been selected as an official social cause of the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations,” said David Kyne, campaign manager of United Against Malaria. “We are so grateful to CAF for its active and ongoing support in the fight against malaria and for offering United Against Malaria such a powerful platform for improving and saving lives.”

To learn more about UAM, please visit www.UnitedAgainstMalaria.org or follow on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/UnitedAgainstMalaria

Image Courtesy of   Gates Foundation

The article United Against Malaria Program of 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Uganda: Millions of Americans are expected to participate in the “Cover the Night” activities outlined in the viral video phenomenon, Kony2012. Christian aid group World Vision released a video warning that, while now-infamous warlord Joseph Kony no longer threatens Ugandan communities, invisible killers continue to stalk the nation’s children – killers with far more reach than Kony’s army, even at its worst.

The violence executed by Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) was maniacal in its brutality. The LRA targeted innocents, abducting children and forcing them to commit inhumane acts of brutality, often against their own families, before using them as child soldiers in its military campaign. While human toll is hard to calculate, during the early 2000s, an estimated 120 to 150 people died every day as a direct result of the LRA conflict, particularly due to conditions in the squalid displacement camps where many fled to avoid LRA attack.

The LRA left Uganda in 2006, and the millions affected by the war have since been rebuilding their lives after a generation of war. But as they do, poverty-related diseases like malaria, diarrhea and malnutrition continue to kill hundreds of Ugandan children every day. Some 4% of infants in Uganda die in their first year of life; 9% die before the age of five.

“I experienced Kony’s violence myself,” said James Odong, who was abducted by the LRA at the age of 19. “I saw children killed – their lives tragically cut short. Today, hundreds of Uganda’s children were taken by the invisible killers of malaria, malnutrition and diarrhea. These deaths aren’t violent, but each loss is tragic.” Odong now serves as World Vision’s associate director for peace building.

During the conflict, World Vision provided counseling and support to former child soldiers through its Children of War Rehabilitation Program. Outside of Uganda, World Vision offices carried out extensive advocacy campaigns to raise awareness and political support for a peaceful end to the conflict.

Now that peace has returned to Uganda, World Vision’s community development programs – funded by the sponsorships of thousands of children in Uganda – continue to help provide anti-malarial bed nets, clean water systems, rehydration treatment, nutritional education, agricultural training and many more initiatives to combat these silent killers – each and every day.

All of these killers are easily prevented and easily treated with the right resources. Extreme poverty keeps most of these children’s families from accessing the preventative care and treatment they need, but with the support of groups like World Vision and others, many of these families are gaining access to lifesaving resources.

The article Invisible Killers Stalk Children in Post-Kony Uganda appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

During the final week of the 2012 Orange Africa Cup of Nations, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) committed its support to the fight against malaria by officially endorsing the United Against Malaria (UAM) campaign.

CAF’s president, Mr. Issa Hayatou, expressed his support for football’s role in educating fans about malaria prevention and treatment and, as part of global efforts to end malaria deaths, called on all CAF members to join UAM and raise awareness about the devastating disease. While malaria is preventable and treatable, it continues to kill an estimated 655,000 people worldwide each year. More than 80 percent of these deaths occur in Africa, and the majority of them are children under the age of five.

“To date, we’ve seen a strong commitment from national federations and their players in the fight against malaria,” said Mr. Hicham El Amrani, secretary general of CAF. “We know the effect malaria has on our players and communities, and we want to build on the successful relationship between the United Against Malaria campaign and African football. We will rally our members to take action and promote United Against Malaria’s ‘Malaria Safe’ activities through the world’s most popular sport.”

CAF also made a pledge to distribute educational materials at future football tournaments and is encouraging fellow football associations and players to use their voices and images in educational outreach.

“By continuing to forge new and innovative partnerships that allow us to leverage unique platforms like the power and popularity of football, we can move closer to making malaria a problem of the past,” said Professor Awa Marie Coll-Seck, executive director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership. “With the world’s attention on 2012 Orange Africa Cup of Nations, we are grateful to CAF for offering us the opportunity to reach millions of people with important malaria prevention messages.”

Football Stars Share a Powerful Message During Orange Africa Cup of Nations Several football stars competing in the 2012 Orange Africa Cup of Nations tournament recently delivered malaria prevention and treatment messages in a new series of UAM public service announcements [http://www.youtube.com/UAMalaria ] (PSAs) that will air throughout Africa during the games.

The PSA series is focused on the importance of malaria prevention and treatment for children in Africa, where the disease still claims the life of a child every minute.

“We are thrilled to receive the support of CAF during the Federation’s flagship tournament,” said David Kyne, campaign manager of UAM. “The support we have received from African national football federations and players since the 2010 FIFA World Cup has helped us reach millions of Africans with these life-saving messages. CAF’s support will take that commitment to the next level, giving United Against Malaria another enormously powerful platform.”

The CAF endorsement builds on the great malaria control work being done by Standard Bank, an official sponsor of 2012 Orange Africa Cup of Nations and long-standing UAM partner.

Standard Bank has worked closely with UAM over the past two years to implement the “Malaria Safe Playbook,” a private sector malaria control guide developed by Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs, to educate global workforces and customers about malaria.

To learn more about UAM or to view the new UAM PSAs, please visit http://www.UnitedAgainstMalaria.org.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/afrikaforce/

The article 2012 Orange Africa Cup of Nations’ United Against Malaria Campaign appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

As the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea prepares to kick off, some of football’s biggest stars have been practicing more than just their moves on the football pitch; they’ve also been practicing delivering messages about malaria control.

Andrew (Dede) Ayew, midfielder from Ghana, Gervinho, forward from Cote d’Ivoire, and Moussa Sow, forward from Senegal, were just a few of the tournament stars who delivered malaria prevention and treatment messages in new United Against Malaria (UAM) public service announcements (PSAs) that will air throughout Africa during the tournament.

Other UAM champions who lent their voice to the new PSAs include Jordan Ayew, striker from Ghana, Charles Kabore, midfielder from Burkina Faso, and Asamoah Gyan, striker from Ghana. The PSAs focus on the importance of malaria prevention and treatment for children in Africa, “because all children deserve a chance at greatness, just like their heroes on the football pitch.” Although preventable and treatable, a child in Africa dies every 45 seconds from malaria.

“Malaria still kills many children in Africa, and it’s important that we educate fans on how to protect themselves and their families,” said Ghana Football Association President and CAF Executive Committee member Kwesi Nyantakyi, whose national team starred in a UAM PSA ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. “Until we have no children dying from malaria in Africa, we need to spread the word about ways to prevent and treat this disease.”

The new PSAs will be shown at half-time during matches aired in Ghana, Senegal and many other African countries through local and cable television stations.

“We are so grateful to the players and their national associations for their commitment to the fight against malaria,” said David Kyne, United Against Malaria Campaign Manager. “Their support offers us an unparalleled opportunity to reach millions of viewers watching the tournament to deliver messages about the prevention and treatment of malaria.”

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/gatesfoundation/

The article African Football Stars Fight Malaria for Africa Cup of Nations Kick-Off appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.