Another triumph for thr United Nations

[Don_Joy's Prince 0]

Study: Congo's death rates highest in Africa

By Heidi Vogt | The Associated Press

8:16 PM CST, January 22, 2008

DAKAR, Senegal — Some 45,000 people die each month in Congo as the world's deadliest humanitarian crisis has failed to improve despite five years of relative peace in the Central African nation, according to a report released Tuesday.

An estimated 5.4 million Congolese died between 1998 and April 2007 because of conflict, most from the rampant disease and food shortages stemming from fighting, the report said.

The study found that life is still alarmingly precarious for Congolese despite the end of the 1998-2002 conflict that pulled in armies from half a dozen surrounding countries, and the country's first free and fair elections in more than four decades in 2006.

"When war ended in Congo there was the same level of dysfunction without the violence," said Les Roberts, a Columbia University professor who helped conduct the first surveys in Congo with the International Rescue Committee.

The study was conducted by the IRC and Australia's Burnet Institute, which researches epidemiological disease.

Congo's monthly death rate of 2.2 deaths for each 1,000 people — essentially unchanged from the last survey in 2004 — is nearly 60 percent higher than the average for sub-Saharan Africa, according to report.

The vast majority of deaths were from nonviolent causes, such as malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia or malnutrition, the report said. Outbreaks of easily treatable diseases like measles and whooping cough have been a major killer of children in Congo, a nation the size of Western Europe.

The group The figures cast a shadow over ongoing negotiations for a peace deal between warlords and the government in Congo's long-volatile east.

The country's hilly eastern region, long the source of turmoil in the country of 66 million and still plagued by fighting, was one of the few to post a decrease in its death rate compared with the previous survey.

Richard Brennan, one of the study's lead authors, said he believed the reduction was related to a beefing-up of U.N. forces in the region and increased funding by humanitarian agencies working to stem the threatening public health disaster. The fighting has forced some 800,000 people to flee their homes in the last year.

On Monday, the government and representatives from armed groups active in eastern Congo had said that they had agreed in principle to the deal to end decades of conflict and expected to sign the document by late Tuesday.

But the plan faltered during discussions over last-minute amendments that dragged on into Tuesday evening.

"The consultations will continue because there have been disagreements concerning amendments to the text," said Sekimonyo Wamagangu, a spokesman for the conference. He said the groups hoped to find a compromise Wednesday.

According to a draft agreement made available to reporters, a cease-fire would take effect in eastern Congo immediately upon signing.

The draft also provides for a U.N.-monitored buffer zone between various armed groups and government forces, the logistics of which would be worked out by a technical committee to be established.

The militia fighters also would be given amnesty from prosecution for insurgency or acts of war, but not for war crimes or crimes against humanity.

Even if the deal is signed, and held to, the statistics point to a tough road ahead.

"It's going to require years of engagement from the Congolese people, the Congolese government and the international community," to reduce deaths, Brennan said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationw...1,1946822.story

How long will this go on? How long have the UN troops been there? Is it time for a change of course? A new way forward.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Yep - terrible.

If only these unilateralists would yee-haw their way into the right house, and for the right reasons, then we might see some progress.

[MaRob 0]

I always figure someone is being sarcastic when they write titles like that...

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

It's a shame that the US and the UN have turned a blind eye to Africa. I really can't believe what they are letting go on over there. That said, every developed country in the world should be ashamed of itself for not helping those people. Disgusting, but at least we'll find out why Heath Ledger died.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

It's a shame that the US and the UN have turned a blind eye to Africa. I really can't believe what they are letting go on over there. That said, every developed country in the world should be ashamed of itself for not helping those people. Disgusting, but at least we'll find out why Heath Ledger died.

Yep - but its nothing new is it? This has all been going on for years - the world sat by and did nothing while Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge massacred and entire generation of their own people in Cambodia.

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

It's a shame that the US and the UN have turned a blind eye to Africa. I really can't believe what they are letting go on over there. That said, every developed country in the world should be ashamed of itself for not helping those people. Disgusting, but at least we'll find out why Heath Ledger died.

Yep - but its nothing new is it? This has all been going on for years - the world sat by and did nothing while Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge massacred and entire generation of their own people in Cambodia.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. I prefer to make mistakes in action versus inaction, but that's just my personal philosophy.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

It's a shame that the US and the UN have turned a blind eye to Africa. I really can't believe what they are letting go on over there. That said, every developed country in the world should be ashamed of itself for not helping those people. Disgusting, but at least we'll find out why Heath Ledger died.

Yep - but its nothing new is it? This has all been going on for years - the world sat by and did nothing while Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge massacred and entire generation of their own people in Cambodia.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. I prefer to make mistakes in action versus inaction, but that's just my personal philosophy.

Perhaps - but then you wind up in the sort of situation we are in with Iraq. Were there more deserving cases worthy of some sort of intervention? Certainly. Only the countries don't act unless there is something in it for them. Its rarely, if ever, about the welfare of the peoples of those countries.

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

It's a shame that the US and the UN have turned a blind eye to Africa. I really can't believe what they are letting go on over there. That said, every developed country in the world should be ashamed of itself for not helping those people. Disgusting, but at least we'll find out why Heath Ledger died.

Yep - but its nothing new is it? This has all been going on for years - the world sat by and did nothing while Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge massacred and entire generation of their own people in Cambodia.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. I prefer to make mistakes in action versus inaction, but that's just my personal philosophy.

Perhaps - but then you wind up in the sort of situation we are in with Iraq. Were there more deserving cases worthy of some sort of intervention? Certainly. Only the countries don't act unless there is something in it for them. Its rarely, if ever, about the welfare of the peoples of those countries.

I agree with everything you said. The worst part are the countries that clamour but never stand up, in my mind. There are certain situations that warrant action, including the congo. Myanmar was getting close, but they've been able to hush the media.

[HAL 9000 96]

I bet if we put an oil well in Sudan at least the "you're with us or against us" crowd will fight to get the Army over there.

[Ban Hammer 12,838]

I bet if we put an oil well in Sudan at least the "you're with us or against us" crowd will fight to get the Army over there.

[Don_Joy's Prince 0]

It's a shame that the US and the UN have turned a blind eye to Africa. I really can't believe what they are letting go on over there. That said, every developed country in the world should be ashamed of itself for not helping those people. Disgusting, but at least we'll find out why Heath Ledger died.

Yep - but its nothing new is it? This has all been going on for years - the world sat by and did nothing while Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge massacred and entire generation of their own people in Cambodia.

I agree whole-heartedly! But the Democrats actually made any invention impossible in this area after Vietnam. The Democrats had complete control of congress at that time. The few Republicans that were there only played golf because the Democrats would vote them out of committee meetings and lock the doors.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

It's a shame that the US and the UN have turned a blind eye to Africa. I really can't believe what they are letting go on over there. That said, every developed country in the world should be ashamed of itself for not helping those people. Disgusting, but at least we'll find out why Heath Ledger died.

Yep - but its nothing new is it? This has all been going on for years - the world sat by and did nothing while Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge massacred and entire generation of their own people in Cambodia.

I agree whole-heartedly! But the Democrats actually made any invention impossible in this area after Vietnam. The Democrats had complete control of congress at that time. The few Republicans that were there only played golf because the Democrats would vote them out of committee meetings and lock the doors.

Have things really changed that much?

Note - I expect you to say 'yes', and you know I'll say 'no'.