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The Sorry State Of Nigeria’s Judiciary Among Others Makes The Battle Cry For A Revolution Inevitable By Francis Adewale

Lawyers

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”
– President John F. Kennedy (1962)

This week may be one of the worst weeks for Nigerian judiciary and they might have made the much vaunted Sowore’s revolution inevitable. The first salvo was the list of judges released by the National Judicial Council replete with the names of their sons and daughters as well as hangers on. Second is the farcical decision in EFCC vs Kalu where the Supreme Court “suo motu” created a new section to the constitution of Nigeria by vacating a conviction duly given under an extant law. The strange rationale by the Supreme Court is that the presiding judge, now elevated to the Court of Appeal should not have pronounced the sentence. The Court conveniently ignored the fact that the accused counsel had invited the judge to come back and continue the hearing by a formal letter!

Gone are the days when Nigerian judiciary is famously celebrated as the last bastion of defense for the common man. The days of Kayode Esho, Chukwudifu Oputa, Muhammed Uwais is long gone. Our judiciary is no more like Caesar’s wife, above board. The problem however is not necessarily down to the hydra headed monster of corruption alone but a more sinister evil called, nepotism. It is my humble opinion that an opaque process for selection of judges led us to where we found ourselves this week. And the problem did not start with the current chief justice. The dysfunction and bastardization have been long in coming, and as we will find out in this piece, the cancer has eaten deep into the fabric of this nation. The revolution is inevitable.

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What precipitate this write up is a social media post by a good friend of mine and I obtained his permission to repost his comment with my personal edits:
“It took Orji Kalu only 4 months including Covid lockdown challenge to move from the High Court to Supreme Court to get his so called sound judgment from Supreme Court while it took ten years to get his case completed at the High Court level. Ten good years! And we are told justice in Nigeria is not cash and carry? The Supreme Court is preparing the ground for a revolution and very soon something extraordinary will take place. The same Supreme Court that will give 2021 and 2022 court date for poor defendants, sat and summarily decide a case within 4 months while cases of those facing a life sentence languish in the labyrinth of jungle justice!”

My first response to the post, is to retort that the problem did not start with judiciary, but they seem to have led the “nunc dimitis” for the internment of democracy in Nigeria. The judiciary may have pushed us to the praecipe but they were not the only one. We all recalled the impunity days of PDP rule and how they ride roughshod on people’s right, celebrating acquisition of jets obtained from corrupt practices while hordes of masses suffer the indignity of scrapping for foods from the gutter. Towards the end of that era, we all thought, if we can just get a man of integrity into Aso Rock, someone who will brook no atom of corruption, we will change the country. The election of 2015 seems to have lulled Nigerians into thinking that all we need is someone or a duo with integrity, so we elect Buhari and Osinbajo, a puritan and a pastor and went home satiated. What we were not prepared for or more appositely choose to ignore is the fact that the vehicle that brought them into governance is none other than the decrepit system that PDP used to feather their nest. In the first 4 years, we were told that the problem is with the National Assembly where the legistlooters shifted their control of the vortex of power in Abuja, opposing every anti-corruption moves of the executives. Then come the last election where the ruling party now controls the executive and legislative arm, but corruption runs through the gamut of the judiciary and Aso Rock looks the other way while nepotism festers in its rank.

It is as if the cancer has completely swallowed up the entire fabric of the nation. Cases involving the poor dragged on for years while those who can afford senior advocate can get quick justice. Many warned that this will sound the death knell of democracy in Nigeria. Every attempt to even build on free and fair election has been truncated by the judiciary. What with the recent confounding judgment from Imo and Bayelsa. Our two gargantuan political parties now owned our judiciary lock, stock and barrel. They sit in smoke filled rooms to determine who will be governors, legislators and judges, and those who will play ball are readily appointed as pawns in the chest board of the Nigerian ruling class, wives, nephews, cousins, sons and daughters are made judges and senior advocates overnight without recourse to any modicum of meritocracy. A friend of mine recently quipped that the problem of nepotism is not just that it defeats meritocracy and breeds mediocrity but that it infects the entire body politics and renders it comatose. Corruption can be traced, and ill-gotten wealth recovered but nepotism is more sinister. Those who obtain position of power and authority through nepotism hold fealty only to their masters who appointed them. Such appointee will readily twist the constitution, made up section that does not exist all at the behest of their “godfather”. It is insidious and evil.

I graduated from Nigerian Law School 30 years ago, after an excellent stint at Great Ife. My class at Ife, drawn from the north, east, west middle belt and south-south has in its rank some of the best legal minds any country will be proud of. We graduated with high hopes to take on the world and change the land. Few of us found ourselves abroad on scholarship where we flourish and excel. Those in legal practice in Nigeria, either at the federal or state ministry of justice or private practice are the ones my heart bleeds for, especially those without access to members of the National Judicial Council. I have had the privilege to advance my career abroad as an attorney and public defender. I frequently sit on panels that recommend colleagues for appointment as judges in a fair, open and transparent process; something my colleagues in Nigeria could only dream of.

When I look at the state of Nigerian legal practice my heart bleeds. The career growth of colleagues in the legal profession in Nigeria is stunted not for lack of excellence but influence in the right place. Influence peddling is an art form in Nigeria and politicians used to have the exclusive preserve of selling it to the highest bidder, but our Judicial Council seems to have mastered the art. The problem will not be this pronounced if the sons and daughters they are foisting on Nigerian judiciary are steeped in the Nigerian experience or have a modicum of merit. As many of my colleagues are apt to complain, majority of the recent appointees hardly spend few years in Nigeria. They all went to schools abroad. Totally devoid of the Nigerian experience, and constantly removed from the everyday life Nigerians suffers under. Majority of them lives in the gilded mansions of their forbears in Abuja and other state capitals, where they are rarely touched by the “better angels of our nature” to use the phrase coined by Abraham Lincoln. It is therefore no surprise that they care only for what their “godfather” demand.

Let me however warns that the biggest mistake we could make is to think that the rot is only in the heart of our judiciary. Think again. Nepotism is next door, next street, next town and everywhere in Nigeria. It rampages through the land, be it North, East or West. Just look at our churches and mosques, who do you see minister or lead the prayers when the founder/visioner is not around? You guess right, if you say their sons and daughters. Gone are the days when Pa Fadayomi push to have a meritorious doctor of aerodynamics succeed him. Gone are the days when the leader of the faithful in Nigeria is selected by their aptitude in the knowledge of the Quaran. Nowadays, the exit of the leader is the beginning of the reign of the progeny. It has infected our colleges and universities, scholarship and opportunities that used to be available on merit are now exclusive preserve of the vice chancelor’s children and family members. Woe betide the school senate members that dare ask questions. Advertisement for jobs that has already been reserved for the children of the privileged are means to extort money in the form of application fees a la Abba Moro immigration recruitment scheme. A recent recruitment without advertisement at our apex bank reported by Sahara Reporters shows that successful applicants names were picked out of the rolodex of the governor. Commercial Banks staff are not an exemption, they are either recruited based on sex appeal or influential ministers/senators’ “recommendation” which doesn’t come easy for the educated but less privileged applicants.

A friend concluded an animated discussion on social media on this issue with a distinctively Nigerian resignation: “It is clear that those who do not want things to work properly in Nigeria are more powerful than those who are working towards finding solutions to our problems.” Again, my response is what do we have to lose if we embrace Omoyele Sowore’s revolution, even with its youthful disdain for experience? Especially when our current experienced leadership seems to treat the Nigerian masses with contempt. Look at it this way: They do not need our votes to win election, as they could procure midnight judgment in Abuja a la Bayelsa and Imo. They do not need to legislate to fill any lacunae in our constitutional experience as the Supreme Court proved in Kalu’s case. In fact, as long as oil flows and they have the means to fill their Cayman Island bank accounts, we may as well not exist. Greed and avarice have become the directive principle of Nigerian ruling class. To rescue ourselves from their vice grip, we need revolution now!

Francis Adewale
Tioluwanimi@gmail.com

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May 9, 2020
Bandits Attack Katsina Communities, Kill One, Injure Several Others

Gunmen have killed at least one person and injured several others in an attack on six villages in Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State.

A witnesses told SaharaReporters that the armed bandits numbering about 200 invaded the towns on motorcycles on Friday.

He listed the affected villages as Yandaka, Salihawar Duba, Garin Goje, Watangadiya and Dutse Maizane.

He further said the bandits blocked roads linking to those areas and shot sporadically to pave way for their operation.

“The bandits killed one Alaramma Kabiru Kano at Garin Goje Village, injured several others, rustled our cows, and carted away undisclosed sums of money from the residents,” the source said.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Gambo Isa, confirmed the incident.

He said the bandits laid ambush for the joint forces of military and police, which led to heavy exchange of fire.

The attack is coming less than 24 hours after Governor Aminu Masari said many people in the state do not see Coronavirus as a problem but banditry.

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May 9, 2020
Crowdsourcing Your Social Video Solution

Zooppa has produced nearly 200 user-generated advertising campaigns and we are happy to share our experience with others in the marketing industry.
In this white paper, you’ll learn about the opportunities offered by social video and how creative crowdsourcing can help your brand or agency capitalize on this medium.

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May 9, 2020
Socso’s PSP for Covid-19 screening : Only RT-PCR tests will do

KUALA LUMPUR: The Social Security Organisation will only accept the ‘Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction’ (RT-PCR) method for Covid-19 screening under its Program Saringan Prihatin (PSP) initiative and not the ‘Rapid Test Kit (RTK) Antibody’ methodology.

Socso said it was taking this measure based on the latest guidelines from the Health Ministry (KKM) on Covid-19 screening which only recognises RT-PCR as the methodology and the National Security Council’s decision on the same matter.

“Socso views the recommendation on the Covid-19 screening methodology for workers at high risk very seriously, The screening tests will be undertaken by the existing service providers and also others who will be appointed to enable more efficient delivery.

“This screening is compulsory for foreign workers in the construction sector or those working in red zones only,” Socso said in a statement here today.

Prior to this, Socso had announced that under its PSP initiative on testing for Covid-19 on workers of companies operating during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period would entail two phases namely RT-PCR followed by the RTK Antibody.

Socso will be providing more information at its Portal Prihatin Perkeso at https://prihatin.perkeso.gov.my. –Bernama

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May 9, 2020
Commemorating Smallpox Eradication – a legacy of hope, for COVID-19 and other diseases

On 8 May 1980, the 33rd World Health Assembly officially declared: ‘The world and all its peoples have won freedom from smallpox.’

The declaration marked the end of a disease that had plagued humanity for at least 3 000 years, killing 300 million people in the 20th century alone.

It was ended, thanks to a 10-year global effort, spearheaded by the World Health Organization, that involved thousands of health workers around the world to administer half a billion vaccinations to stamp out smallpox.

The US$ 300m price-tag to eradicate smallpox saves the world well over US$ 1 billion every year since 1980.

Speaking at a virtual event hosted at WHO-HQ, involving key players in the eradication effort, WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “As the world confronts the COVID-19 pandemic, humanity’s victory over smallpox is a reminder of what is possible when nations come together to fight a common health threat.”

The world got rid of smallpox thanks to an incredible demonstration of global solidarity, and because it had a safe and effective vaccine. Solidarity plus science equalled solution!

Dr Tedros highlighted that smallpox eradication also offers hope for efforts to eliminate other infectious diseases, including polio, which is now endemic in just two countries. To date, 187 countries, territories and areas have been certified free of Guinea worm disease, with seven more to go. And the fight against malaria has so far resulted in 38 countries and territories certified as malaria-free. In the case of Tuberculosis (TB), 57 countries and territories with low TB incidence are on track to reach TB elimination.

At the event, Dr Tedros unveiled a commemorative postal stamp to recognize the global solidarity that drove the initiative and honour the efforts of health workers who ensured its success.

The stamp, developed by the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA), in collaboration with WHO, signifies what national unity and global solidary can achieve. Numerous countries, such as Guinea, India, Nigeria, Philippines, Togo and others issued smallpox stamps to show support for, and raise awareness about WHO’s Intensified Smallpox Eradication Programme launched in 1967.

WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti’s earliest memories of smallpox is of her father. “I was visiting WHO headquarters, and I saw a photo of my Dad, standing with the other experts on the Global Commission. I remember him going out, doing follow-up visits with patients. He often would go with a driver and disappear into the bush for days. I felt in awe of his tireless work. The strategies used to eradicate smallpox still apply today.”

“Lessons learned from smallpox are used today to respond to disease outbreaks. For example, house-to-house active case-finding underpins the polio eradication programme, and ring vaccination of contacts is helping to combat the spread of the Ebola virus disease. Similarly, surveillance, case-finding, testing, contact-tracing, quarantine, and communication campaigns to dispel misinformation are central to controlling COVID-19, “ explained David Heymann, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Distinguished Fellow, Global Health Security at Chatham House, London.

Following smallpox eradication, WHO and UNICEF launched the Expanded Programme on Immunization, under which 85% of the world’s children are vaccinated and protected from debilitating diseases.

With the potential of a COVID-19 vaccine ahead, ensuring sufficient supplies and reaching people in hard to reach places is a high priority. Addressing vaccine hesitancy poses a significant challenge to stop the virus. Access to accurate public health information and education is critical to ensure that the public has the facts to keep themselves and others safe.

To permanently commemorate the eradication of smallpox and the lessons learned on a global scale, rather than every 10-years, WHO is calling museums, exhibition companies, designers, curators and associations to develop an immersive, interactive and educational exhibition on smallpox and its relevance for COVID-19 and global health security. The exhibition, which will be unveiled later this year, will promote a better understanding of public health and empower people to keep informed and safe during a pandemic.

Notes to the media

Smallpox stamp

The smallpox stamp is in the denomination of CHF 1,70. It was designed by Sergio Baradat (United Nations) in collaboration with the World Health Organization and is available for purchase at unstamps.org. The stamp can be used to mail postcards and letters around the world, provided that they are sent from the UN headquarters in New York, Geneva or Vienna respectively.

Smallpox Eradication dates

On 9 December 1979, a global commission certified that smallpox had been eradicated, and this certification was officially accepted by the 33rd World Health Assembly in 1980.

Museum Exhibition

Exhibition design companies, museums, curators and other companies/organizations in this field are invited to express their interest to develop an immersive, educational exhibition on smallpox and its relevance for COVID-19 and global health security by writing to privatesectorpartners@who.int

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May 9, 2020
Massive proportion of world’s population are living with herpes infection

Virus causing genital herpes may put millions of people at greater risk of infection with HIV

About half a billion people worldwide are living with genital herpes, and several billion have an oral herpes infection, new estimates show.

Authored by staff at the University of Bristol, World Health Organization (WHO), and Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar, and published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization,
the new study estimates the global infection prevalence and incidence of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2) in 2016.

“Herpes infection affects millions of people across the globe and can have far-reaching health effects. We need more investment and commitment to develop better treatment and prevention tools for this infection.” says Dr Sami Gottlieb, Medical
Officer at WHO and an author of the study.

Prevalence and incidence

An estimated 491.5 million people were living with HSV-2 infection in 2016, equivalent to 13.2% of the world’s population aged 15 to 49 years. HSV-2 is almost exclusively sexually transmitted, causing infection in the genital or anal area (genital
herpes).

An estimated 3.7 billion people had HSV-1 infection during the same year – around 66.6% of the world’s population aged 0 to 49. HSV-1 is mainly transmitted by oral to oral contact to cause infection in or around the mouth (oral herpes). However,
HSV-1 can also be transmitted to the genital area through oral-genital contact – during oral sex – to cause genital herpes. Most HSV-1 infections were oral; however, between 122 million to 192 million people were estimated to have genital
HSV-1 infection, depending on the assumptions used in the estimation model.

Because herpes is a lifelong infection, estimated prevalence increased with age; HSV-2 prevalence was also higher among women and in the WHO African Region.

Health and social impacts

Most people living with herpes, caused by either HSV-1 or 2, are unaware they have the infection.

When symptoms do occur however, oral herpes infection can lead to painful sores around the mouth (“cold sores”). Genital herpes infection can cause recurring, often painful, genital sores, often referred to as genital ulcer disease.

WHO and partners published a study in March 2020 estimating that around 5% of the world’s population (187 million people) suffered from at least one episode of herpes-related genital ulcer disease in 2016 (1). Most of these episodes were due to
HSV-2, which can recur frequently over many years.

Recurrent symptoms of genital herpes can lead to stigma and psychological distress, and can have an important impact on quality of life and sexual relationships. However, in time, most people with herpes adjust to living with the infection.

“Genital herpes is a substantial health concern worldwide – beyond the potential pain and discomfort suffered by people living with the infection, the associated social consequences can have a profound effect on sexual and reproductive health”
says Dr Ian Askew, Director of the Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research at WHO.

Herpes and HIV

A strong association exists between HSV-2 infection and HIV infection. In 2019, WHO commissioned a modeling study to estimate how much HSV-2 infection might contribute to HIV incidence. The study estimated that almost 30% of new sexually acquired HIV
infections in 2016 worldwide were likely attributable to HSV-2 infection (2).

Evidence shows that people with HSV-2 infection are at least three times more likely to become infected with HIV, if exposed. HSV-2 leads to inflammation and small breaks in the genital and anal skin that can make it easier for HIV to cause infection.
In addition, people with both HIV and HSV-2 infection are more likely to spread HIV to others.

Women have higher biologic susceptibility to both HSV-2 and HIV. Women living in the WHO Africa Region have the highest HSV-2 prevalence and exposure to HIV – putting them at greatest risk of HIV infection, with negative implications for their health
and well-being.

For people living with HIV (or who are living with other conditions that compromise their immune systems) as well as HSV-2, the symptoms of herpes can be more severe and more frequent.

Neonatal herpes

Neonatal herpes can occur when an infant is exposed to HSV in the genital tract during delivery. This is a rare condition, occurring in an estimated 10 out of every 100,000 births globally, but can lead to lasting neurologic disability or death. The risk
for neonatal herpes is greatest when a mother acquires HSV infection for the first time in late pregnancy. Women who have genital herpes before they become pregnant are at very low risk of transmitting HSV to their infants.

No cure – better treatment and prevention needed

There is no cure for herpes. At present, antiviral medications, such as acyclovir, famciclovir, and valacyclovir, can help to reduce the severity and frequency of symptoms but cannot cure the infection.

As well as increasing awareness about HSV infection and its symptoms, improved access to antiviral medications and heightened HIV prevention efforts for those with genital HSV symptoms are needed globally.

In addition, development of better treatment and prevention interventions is needed, particularly HSV vaccines. WHO and partners are working to accelerate research to develop new strategies for prevention and control of HSV infections. Such research includes
the development of HSV vaccines and topical microbicides. Several candidate vaccines and microbicides are currently being studied.

“A vaccine against HSV infection would not only help to promote and protect the health and well-being of millions of people, particularly women, worldwide – it could also potentially have an impact on slowing the spread of HIV, if developed
and provided alongside other HIV prevention strategies” says Dr Meg Doherty, Director of the WHO Department of Global HIV, Hepatitis, and STI Programmes.

Related publications

WHO guidelines for the treatment of Genital Herpes Simplex Virus

WHO preferred product characteristics for herpes simplex virus vaccines

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(1) Looker KJ, Johnston C, Welton NJ, et al. The global and regional burden of genital ulcer disease due to herpes simplex virus: a natural history modelling study. BMJ Glob Health. 2020;5(3):e001875. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2019- 001875.

(2) Looker KJ, Welton NJ, Sabin KM, et al.Global and regional estimates of the contribution of herpes simplex virus type 2 infection to HIV incidence: a population attributable fraction analysis using published epidemiological data. Lancet Infect Dis.2020;20(2):240-249. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(19)30470-0.

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May 9, 2020
Indonesia firmly committed to eliminating lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem

Indonesia recently completed the last of its annual large-scale treatment for lymphatic filariasis (also known as elephantiasis or Penyakit Kaki Gajah) in Malaka District located in its southernmost province, East Nusa Tenggara. Unprecedented
progress by the National Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Programme has strongly placed the country on the path to achieving the elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem.

“We reached an estimated number of 40.7 million people living in the 118 high-risk districts during this month-long treatment campaign in October 2019” said Dr Anung Sugihantono, who recently retired as Director General of Diseases
Prevention and Control, Ministry of Health Indonesia. “Single doses of diethylcarbamazine citrate and albendazole facilitated by WHO were delivered to all eligible populations.”

In 2010, an estimated 125 million Indonesians were still at risk of the disease and required treatment.

But things changed considerably in 2015 when Indonesia mounted an annual national campaign to resolutely address transmission of the disease and to tackle the morbidity and disability associated with it. The results were apparent as early as 2017, with
remarkable progress.

In Indonesia, LF is considered a significant public health concern. In 2009, risk mapping identified a population of 124.5 million people needing treatment for LF. The country initiated a national level LF elimination campaign in 2015, addressing both
disease prevention and management.

“In 2017 and in just two years we managed to achieve 100% geographical coverage of all people requiring treatment” said Dr Sugihantono. “It meant achieving more than 78% epidemiological coverage – much higher than the generally recommended 65% to stop transmission.”

Transmission of lymphatic filariasis can be stopped through large-scale treatment (or mass drug administration – MDA) of entire at- risk communities with recommended medicines once a year. These medicines kill the microfilariae in an infected patient’s
blood preventing mosquitoes to transmit¹ the disease to others. Through mass treatment, the aim is to reduce the reservoir of microfilariae in the blood to a level insufficient to maintain transmission by the mosquito vector.

This strategy to interrupt transmission is the corner-stone of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF). Indonesia has been using the GPELF’s strategy since 2002 using a district or city
as its implementation unit.

In 2005, it listed the elimination of LF as a national priority for controlling infectious diseases and the medicines it has been using in large-scale treatment programmes are diethylcarbamazine citrate (DEC) and albendazole² which are
largely distributed by volunteer community health workers³.

“Community health volunteers are themselves members of the community and know how to reach people effectively to improve compliance” said Dr. Stefanus Bria Seran, the Regent of Malaka District, one of LF endemic district in Indonesia. “Besides ensuring every single person ingests the medicine given to them, these community workers help in disseminating information well before a large-scale treatment campaign and also assist in reporting activities related to each treatment campaign”.

Indonesia’s efforts to eliminate lymphatic filariasis began in the 1970s but faced numerous challenges including programme coordination in the many inhabited islands, conducting information, education and awareness programmes, lack of capacity and
insufficient medicines.

Furthermore, the situation in Indonesia is unusual than in many other countries endemic for lymphatic filariasis as the country is endemic for all three species of thread-like filarial worms – Brugia malayi, Brugia timori, and Wuchereria bancrofti –
that cause the disease. Most of the infections in Indonesia, however, are caused by B. malayi.

In the past, some of the factors that prevented access to the medicines (DEC and albendazole) were social stigmatization linked to the disease, the vast geography of the territory and challenges in reaching remote populations.

With an estimated population of 242 million, Indonesia is the world’s largest island nation and consists of approximately 17,000 islands, of which 5,000–6,000 are inhabited. It is the fourth most populated nation behind China, India, and the United
States.

Indonesia is endemic for many other neglected tropical diseases and an estimated 110 million Indonesians are believed to suffer from at least one neglected tropical disease (NTD), including lymphatic filariasis and soil-transmitted helminth infections.
Leptospirosis (not classified as NTD) is also widespread.

Indonesia is the only country of WHO’s South East Asia Region with endemic schistosomiasis. Like many other countries of the Region, it also faces recurrent threats of dengue outbreaks.

Global progress

The world has made significant progress towards the elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem.

Sixteen countries⁴ and one territory are now acknowledged by WHO to have achieved elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem.

Seven additional countries have successfully implemented recommended strategies, stopped large-scale treatment and are under surveillance to demonstrate that elimination has been achieved.

The disease

Lymphatic filariasis is caused by infection with parasitic worms living in the lymphatic system. The larval stages of the parasite (microfilaria) circulate in the blood and are transmitted from person to person by mosquitoes.

Infection involves asymptomatic, acute, and chronic conditions. Most infections are asymptomatic, showing no external signs while contributing to transmission of the parasite. Although asymptomatic, these infections still cause damage to the lymphatic
system and the kidneys and alter the body’s immune system.

When lymphatic filariasis develops into chronic conditions it leads to lymphoedema (tissue swelling) or elephantiasis (skin/tissue thickening) of limbs and hydrocele (scrotal swelling). Involvement of breasts and genital organs are common.

Manifestation of the disease after infection takes time and can result in an altered lymphatic system, causing abnormal enlargement of body parts, and leading to severe disability and social stigmatization of those affected.

¹Lymphatic filariasis is transmitted by different types of mosquitoes – e.g the Culex mosquito which widespread across urban and semi-urban areas; Anopheles, mainly found in rural areas; and, Aedes, mainly
in endemic islands in the Pacific.

²In 2017, WHO recommended an alternative three drug treatment to accelerate the global elimination of lymphatic filariasis. The treatment, known as IDA, involves a combination of ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine citrate and albendazole.
It is recommended annually in settings where its use is expected to have the greatest impact.

³Community health workers, also called ‘cadres’, are volunteers who form part of the communities they serve and work with local
communities to educate families. Their contribution in promoting health has been significant in the country.

⁴Cambodia, The Cook Islands, Egypt, Kiribati, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Niue, Palau, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Vanuatu, Viet Nam, Wallis and Futuna, and Yemen

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May 9, 2020
Commitment and call to action: Global collaboration to accelerate new COVID-19 health technologies
Our Vision and Mission

Grounded in a vision of a planet protected from human suffering
and the devastating social and economic consequences of
COVID-19, we, an initial group of global health actors (BMGF,
CEPI, Gavi, Global Fund, UNITAID, Wellcome Trust, WHO) and
private sector partners and other stakeholders, are launching
a landmark, global and time-limited collaboration to accelerate the
development, production and equitable global access to new COVID-19 essential health technologies.

We know that as long as anyone is at risk from this virus, the entire
world is at risk – every single person on the planet needs to be
protected from this disease.

We agree that alongside evidence-based public health measures,
innovative COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines are
needed – in record time and at record scale and access – to save
millions of lives and countless trillions of dollars, and to return
the world to a sense of ‘normalcy’.

We recognize the significant amount of critical work, investment
and initiatives already ongoing around the world to expedite
the development and deployment of innovative COVID-19 related
products and interventions.

We appreciate that while development and deployment of
innovative products is essential, it will not be enough. We must
simultaneously and urgently accelerate the strengthening of
sustainable health systems and capacities to enable delivery of
the new COVID-19 tools to those who need them and to mitigate
the knock-on impact on other diseases.

We remember lessons from the past, which have shown that even
when effective tools are available to the world, too often some
are protected, while others are not. This inequity is unacceptable –
all tools to address COVID-19 must be available to all. In the fight
against COVID-19, no one should be left behind.

We understand we cannot do this alone, and that we need to
work together in unprecedented and inclusive partnership with all
stakeholders – political leaders, public and private sector partners,
civil society, academia, and all other stakeholders across society
– jointly leveraging our comparative strengths and respective
voices to drive towards collective solutions, an accelerated path,
and access for all. We are stronger, faster and more effective
working together.

Our Mission is not only accelerated development and availability
of new COVID-19 tools – it is to accelerate equitable global access
to safe, quality, effective, and affordable COVID-19 diagnostics,
therapeutics and vaccines, and thus to ensure that in the fight
against COVID-19, no one is left behind.

Our Commitment
1. We commit to the shared aim of equitable global
  access to innovative tools for COVID-19 for all.
2. We commit to an unprecedented level of partnership
  – proactively engaging stakeholders, aligning and
  coordinating efforts, building on existing collaborations, collectively devising solutions, and grounding
  our partnership in transparency, and science.
3. We commit to create a strong unified voice to
  maximize impact, recognizing this is not about
  singular decision-making authority, but rather
  collective problem-solving, interconnectedness and
  inclusivity, where all stakeholders can connect and
  benefit from the expertise, knowledge and activities
  of this shared action-oriented platform.
4. We commit to build on past experiences towards
  achieving this objective, including ensuring that
  every activity we undertake is executed through the
  lens of equitable global access, and that the voices
  of the communities most affected are heard.
5. We commit to be accountable to the world, to
  communities, and to one another. We are coming
  together in the spirit of solidarity, and in the service
  of humanity, to achieve our mission and vision.
Our Call

We ask the global community and political leaders to
support this landmark collaboration, and for donors to
provide the necessary resources to accelerate achievement
of the objectives of this global collaboration, capitalizing
on the opportunity provided by the rolling pledging
campaign that will start on 4 May 2020.

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https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/24-04-2020-commitment-and-call-to-action-global-collaboration-to-accelerate-new-covid-19-health-technologies

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May 9, 2020
WHO reports fivefold increase in cyber attacks, urges vigilance

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO has seen a dramatic increase in the number of cyber attacks directed at its staff, and email scams targeting the public at large.

This week, some 450 active WHO email addresses and passwords were leaked online along with thousands belonging to others working on the novel coronavirus response.

The leaked credentials did not put WHO systems at risk because the data was not recent. However, the attack did impact an older extranet system, used by current and retired staff as well as partners.

WHO is now migrating affected systems to a more secure authentication system.

Scammers impersonating WHO in emails have also increasingly targeted the general public in order to channel donations to a fictitious fund and not the authentic COVID-19 Solidary Response Fund. The number of cyber attacks is now more than five times the number directed at the Organization in the same period last year.

“Ensuring the security of health information for Member States and the privacy of users interacting with us a priority for WHO at all times, but also particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are grateful for the alerts we receive from Member States and the private sector. We are all in this fight together,” said Bernardo Mariano, WHO’s Chief Information Officer.

WHO is working with the private sector to establish more robust internal systems and to strengthen security measures and is educating staff on cybersecurity risks.

WHO asks the public to remain vigilant against fraudulent emails and recommends the use of reliable sources to obtain factual information about COVID-19 and other health issues.

For more information, please visit: www.who.int/covid-19.

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https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/23-04-2020-who-reports-fivefold-increase-in-cyber-attacks-urges-vigilance

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May 9, 2020
Choosing the Right Email Service Provider

Just as email marketing can be complex, so is choosing a top tier ESP (Email Service Provider). Comparing ESPs to each other isn?t always an apples-to-apples comparison. They each have their specific areas of strengths and weaknesses. For example, some ESPs excel at integration with web analytics or CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems, some are very strong in deliverability, and others have a more intuitive interface. The differences don?t just stop there: The same piece of content sent to the same list on different ESPs will give you different delivery results.

This white paper will help you narrow down the services that are most important to you and what to look for when selecting an ESP. It also includes an ESP Scoring Sheet!

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http://www.associationofmarketing.org/whitepapers/view.php?whitepaper_id=72

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April 11, 2020