Can renewable energy help Lesotho?

Lesotho is one of the poorest countries in the world. They are going to spend £9bn on a huge renewable energy scheme that they hope will hep lift them out of povert. Follow the link to read more.

Lesotho to harness wind and water in huge green energy project http://gu.com/p/332mm

East Africa drought 'remains huge crisis'

Three months after famine was declared in Somalia, the scale of the crisis in the Horn of Africa remains huge, says a British official.

International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said hundreds of people, mainly children, were dying every day.

According to new figures cited by Mr Mitchell, British aid is feeding more than 2.4m people across the region.

The coming rainy season is expected to bring disease to crowded refugee camps.

In Somalia alone, Mr Mitchell points out, more than 400,000 children remain at risk of death.

Health has had a high priority in British aid that has come to the region - 1.3m people being vaccinated against measles, for example, while 400,000 doses of anti-malarial medication are currently on their way to Somalia.

Click on the headline to read the full story from the BBC

Click on the map to read a report and see more images from The Independent

South Sudan becomes world's newest nation

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011 as the outcome of a 2005 peace deal that ended Africa's longest-running civil war.

An overwhelming majority of South Sudanese voted in a January 2011 referendum to secede and become Africa's first new country since Eritrea split from Ethiopia in 1993.

Click on the headline to be taken to the BBC web-profile of South Sudan.

China as a Superpower TV programme on BBC iplayer

Year 13 should definitely watch this programme as it ties in perfectly with the Unit 3 option on Superpower Geographies.

The BBC blurb reads:
Travelling across three continents, Justin Rowlatt investigates the spread of Chinese influence around the planet and asks what the world will be like if China overtakes America as the world's economic superpower. In the first of two films, he embarks on a journey across Southern Africa to chart the extraordinary phenomenon of Chinese migration to Africa, and the huge influence of China on the development of the continent.
While many in the West view Africa as a land of poverty, to the Chinese it is seen as an almost limitless business opportunity. From Angola to Tanzania, Justin meets the fearless Chinese entrepreneurs who have travelled thousands of miles to set up businesses


Click the heading to be taken to the show (it is the first episode in a series)

Attention Year 13! Colonialism and Neo-colonialism

Your current topic of Superpower Geographies is constantly in the news. Make sure you keep up to date with the changes in power and relationships that are taking place.

This week Nigeria have been celebrating 50 years of independence from their former colonial power - Britain. But how has the last 50 years been for Nigeria? Have they made advances since gaining their freedom?
The link below is for an article about the independence of Nigeria and is worth a read:
Guardian article on Nigeria's 50th year of independence from Britain

And here's another article, from today (2nd October 2010) about the new form of colonalism - in this case China's growing relationship with Africa. China has now overtaken the USA as Africa's number one trading partner. They are more than happy to deal with some of the countries Western countries frown upon (Zimbabwe for example). Read the article by clicking the link below:
Independent newspaper article on China in Africa

Look at the podcast section and you will see more useful information, in a form that you can listen to.

If you click on the title of this post you will see a blog by someone about China and India's battle for supremacy in China. There are 4 parts to to, follow the links at the end of each article.

Will there ever be a way of preventing HIV?

Hopes of a breakthrough that would allow women to protect themselves from HIV have been dashed with today's revelation from a large, British-funded trial that a promising drug has turned out to be ineffective.

Britain's Medical Research Council (MRC) and the department for international development (DfID) had backed the trial in four African countries, involving 9,385 women. But after four years and significant investment, scientists have been forced to conclude that the PRO 2000 gel does not prevent HIV/Aids. Dr Sheena McCormack of the MRC, chief investigator of the trial, said they were deeply disappointed, but that the search must go on.

A microbicide, in the form of a cream or gel that kills the virus, would give women in Africa and Asia the power to defend themselves against HIV given the refusal of many men to wear condoms. The trials in Africa showed that both men and women found its use acceptable.
Expectations were raised in March when a smaller US-led trial of PRO 2000, involving 3,099 women, found a 30% reduction in infections, but the actual numbers of people who became HIV positive were not large enough to give conclusive results.
"I have to say then we got quite excited," said McCormack. "But in a big trial you get closer to the truth, and unfortunately the truth is it didn't work. It is bitterly disappointing for us, but it will inform the way we go forward."
Half the participants were given PRO 2000 while the other half got an inactive gel. There were 130 infections among those who used the real thing and 123 among those who had the inactive gel. The UK Government £14m to the MRC, Imperial College and five African countries in 2002. The final cost to DfID of the PRO 2000 trial has been £40m, with £2m from the MRC – a substantial sum, but tiny compared with the cost of pharmaceutical company trials.

About 2.7 million people were infected with HIV last year. A number of African countries have run out of money to put newly diagnosed people on drugs to keep them alive and will struggle to continue to treat those already taking them if donations fall because of the economic crisis. There is a danger, said McCormack, that it is "going to go wrong again for Africa".
If PRO 2000 had worked, it could have been made available cheaply over the counter to any woman who wanted it.


What is HIV? Click here to find out more

For the latest ews about HIV and AIDS click here

Africa's Food Crisis

Tens of millions of people across more than half the states in sub-Saharan Africa need urgent food aid, but the causes are often complex and varied.

Food crises were once primarily triggered by natural disasters like droughts. But according to research by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, man-made causes are increasingly to blame. These include conflict and poor governance, as well as HIV/Aids. Rural poverty, international trade barriers, overpopulation, deforestation, poor use of land and environmental problems can also be factors.

Find out more about Africa's food crisis now