Month: February 2004

WHO Reports Polio Setback

At the same time that some countries are complaining that the polio vaccine is dangerous, the World Health Organization announced in January that new cases of polio had been discovered in two African countries where WHO had previously labeled the disease as eradicated.

Polio cases were discovered in both Benin and Cameroon in early January, apparently having spread from Nigeria. Nigeria still experiences about 300 cases of polio annually and Muslim leaders in northern Nigeria have led a local fight against the polio vaccine saying it contains hormones that are used to sterilize girls.

Sources:

West Africa Polio Cases a Setback for WHO’s Eradication Plan. UN Wire, January 12, 2004.

UN says polio is spreading to countries where it had been eradicated. Press Release, United Nations, January 9, 2004.

PCRM Is an Animal Rights Group

The news stories about Robert Atkins being obese when he died were appalling for a number of reasons, not the least of which that much of the coverage deceived people like John Robb into believing that the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a run-of-the-mill nonprofit run by doctors.

It’s not — it’s a front group for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The groups use a third nonprofit front group, The Foundation to Support Animal Protection to hide the fact that PCRM is little more than a PETA branch office.

Why? Because PETA knows that the press and public are increasingly skeptical of claims coming from animal rights groups. But if you make the exact same information appear to be coming from a nonprofit doctors group, the media and the public will sit up and take note.

Amnesty International: Violence Against Women “Most Pervasive Human Rights Challenge”

In November, Amnesty International marked International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by arguing that violence against women is the “most pervasive human rights challenge” facing the world today. Unfortunately, Amnesty International appears to be relying on inflated activist figures for some of its claims.

Here’s a couple paragraphs from the BBC, for example, on Amnesty International’s take on women and human rights,

‘Violence against women and girls is the most pervasive human rights challenge of our times,” said Amnesty International.

According to the organization, 120 million women around the world are subjected to brutal female circumcision every year and in the United States alone 700,000 women are raped annually.

Huh? According to the National Crime Victimization Survey — which relies on interviews to estimate crime rates, including those that are never reported to police — in 2000 there were roughly 100,000 rapes in the United States. Even if you add in the crimes labeled as sexual assaults by the NCVS, you still end up with a number that’s more than 2/3rds lower than the Amnesty International figure.

If Amnesty International is willing to rely on such specious figures for its estimates of violent crime against women in the United States, how can its estimates for crime in other parts of the world be trusted?

Source:

Attacks on women ‘biggest issue’. The BBC, November 26, 2003.

Imam Sentenced in Spain for Book with Wife Beating Advice

The BBC reports that Muslim cleric Mohamed Kamal Mustafa was sentenced to 15 months in jail by a Spanish court for writing a book that included advice on the proper way to beat one’s wife. Under Spanish law, however, the sentence will be suspended and Mustafa will not serve any time in jail provided he doesn’t commit another similar offense.

The book in question, Women in Islam, was published in Spain in 2000 and offered advice for men on how to assault their wives without landing in trouble with Spanish legal authorities. For example, Mustafa advised that when men physically discipline their wives,

The blows should be concentrated on the hands and feet using a rod that is thin and light so that it does not leave scars or bruises on the body.

Women’s groups in Spain were outraged by the publication of the book, and the state agreed, charging Mustafa with inciting violence against women. This was the first successful prosecution of inciting violence against women in Spain.

Muslim groups in Spain were quick to distance themselves from Mustafa’s claims that he was simply interpreting the Koran. Mohamed Halhoul, director of the Islamic Council of Catalonia, told the New York Times,

We respect the sentence. In Islam, there does not exist any type of call for aggression, either towards men or women.

Sources:

Imam rapped for wife-beating book. The BBC, January 14, 2004.

Spain Sentences Imam for Book Offering Advice on Wife-Beating. Dale Fuchs, The New York Times, January 15, 2004.

UN Population Fund Holds Forum on Europe’s Low Fertility Rates

The United Nations Population Fund recently held a forum in Europe to examine an odd topic — the extremely low fertility rates that most European countries are currently experiencing.

Over the last 25 years, European countries have seen an unprecedented, sustained drop in total fertility rates. As United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Executive Secretary Brigita Schmögnerová noted,

Europe is currently in a unique epoch in its population history. Europe is moving into a new demographic regime.

Since this has never happened to a human society that was not facing some sort of crisis, the implications for Europe’s future are still hotly debated. Europe is likely, for example, to soon become the society with the oldest average age ever — how will that affect it? How will Europe handle the decline in younger workers and the attendant increase in older people?

Sources:

UN’s European population forum to examine region’s low fertility. UN Wire, January 12, 2004.

Experts Examine Europe’s Population, Reproductive Health Concerns. Press Release, United Nations, January 12, 2004.

WHO Launches Cholera Vaccination Test in Mozambique

In January the World Health Organization announced it was launching its efforts at mass vaccination against cholera using a new oral vaccine against the disease.

For this demonstration project, WHO is focusing on Mozambique which has been hit particularly hard by the disease in recent years. In 1999, it reported 45,000 cases out of a world total that usually hovers between 100,000-200,000 annually.

The vaccination project will focus on the city of Beria and will vaccinate about 50,000 of the half million people living there against the disease. WHO will be able to gauge the success of its efforts there in early 2005.

Should the vaccine prove effective, it is likely to play a key role in reducing worldwide cholera incidence.

Source:

WHO launches first oral-vaccination cholera campaign. UN Wire, January 15, 2004.

Mozambique mass campaign tests the theory. Press Release, World Health Organization, January 14, 2004.