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ATCRI recently sent a Press Release asking the Malawian government to begin implementation of Tobacco Control measures. The statement was issued to coincide with International Tobacco Growers Association (ITGA) meeting in Salima Malawi.
Please find the link below to ATCRI press release: http://africasciencenews.org/asns/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1220&Itemid=2 and the response by the Malawian Principle Secretary for Agriculture Andrew Daudi: http://africasciencenews.org/asns/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1229&Itemid=1
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Gambian Tobacco Control Advocate Samboujang Conteh Bags National Awards
A Gambian Tobacco Control Advocate Samboujang Conteh has been honoured with National Awards in recognition of my outstanding contribution in the development of The Gambia.
He was presented the National Award of the Republic of The Gambia by His Excellency Dr Alhagie Yahya AJJ Jammeh president of the republic of The Gambia on the second May 2009 at State house in Banjul. Mr Samboujang will celebrate this award on May 23 in his home town of Banni, North Bank Region.
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 ATCRI Courts ECOWAS For Tobacco Control
An ATCRI team recently visited the Nigerian office of the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as part of efforts to fosterer collaborative relationship with intergovernmental agencies.
Similar meeting is scheduled with the Africa Union (AU). At the ECOWAS Parliament, the Principal Administrative Officer, Amuta Onogwu expressed satisfaction with the ATCRI initative expressing the support of ECOWAS Parliament Secretary General, Mohammed Diakite.
Onogwu said ECOWAS Parliament is willing to work with ATRCI to ensure that ECOWAS states adopt effective tobacco control policies.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional group of fifteen countries, founded in 1975. its mission is to promote economic integration in “all fields of economic activity, particularly industry, transport, telecommunications, energy, agriculture, natural resources, commerce, monetary and financial questions, social and cultural matters”.
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Smoke Free Malawi led a group of demonstrators to present a petition to the International Tobacco Growers Association (ITGA) meeting for Africa region being held in Malawi’s resort district of Salima.
Police refused permission for an open demonstration while the petition was presented to local Tobacco Association of Malawi (TAMA) staff who were manning the secretariat after denying entry to the group.
Smoke Free Malawi a project of the Youth Alliance in Social and Economic Development (YASED) was supported by Drug Fight Malawi, Link for Education Governance and members of the ATSA country team.
The petition calls for urgent calls for urgent Government’s intervention in the sector to address the increasing poverty levels being exacerbated by Tobacco growing. It cites health, environment and economic effects of the crop.
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Ghana, Malawi Journalists Meet, Finalises Official Launch of Africa Journalists Network on Tobacco Control
As part of ATCRI’s strategic plans, Journalists in Ghana and Malawi have held formation meetings and preparation towards official launch of the Africa Journalists Network on Tobacco Control. Issah Ali of Vision for Alternative Development in Ghana and Kondwani Munthali a renowned journalist from Malawi are coordinators for the network in their respective countries.
Africa Tobacco Control Regional Initiative (ATCRI) has, as part of the core work-plan, formation of a continental network of journalists to create strategic platform for information sharing and sound propagation of tobacco control messages at the national levels of each country within the sub-Saharan Africa and ultimately create a high-level interaction within the media at the continental level.
The purpose of the Africa Journalists Network on Tobacco Control is to create the needed hub for information-sharing that will enable smooth passage of tobacco control messages across the continent. This will enable journalists to demonstrate adequate understanding of key issues around tobacco and the health hazards, which will enhance their reporting on tobacco control within their respective countries. Using ATCRI as a resource-base, journalists within the network will be able to get required researched data to boost their reporting.
ATCRI plans the launch of the network in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi and Niger in the third quarter of the year.
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ITGA MEETING: ATCRI URGES MALAWIAN GOVERNMENTS TO TAKE ACTION
The Africa Tobacco Control Regional Initiative (ATCRI) has urged the Malawian governments to take urgent action in protecting the lives of its citizens from tobacco health risks as the International Tobacco Growers Association holds its meeting to discuss issues related to tobacco and marketing, between 3rd and 6th May in Salima, Malawi.
ATCRI in a statement said Malawi must demonstrate a balance between trade and the health of her citizens, by ensuring that while Tobacco remains a major contributor to her gross national income and key foreign export earner, vulnerable members of her society are not left to the games and exploitation of the big tobacco multinationals.
“We are concerned that as tobacco farming, particularly in developing countries, has become the leading sector with very high prevalence of child labour, urgent and decisive action must be taken not just to checkmate the strategies of tobacco companies at luring the younger generation into tobacco addiction but to also protect the African farmer whose livelihood is stake on growing tobacco to so that slavery in any form is not permitted in Africa.” says ATCRI Director, Dr Olanrewaju Onigbogi.
“The government of Malawi must take responsibility, not only in protecting the tobacco farmers, but in ensuring that there is domestic legislation on tobacco, which will take care of the dubious activities of the big tobacco multinationals in Malawi, as a developing country.” He added. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is the global convention to control the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of tobacco products. The treaty entered into force on February 27, 2005. It currently has 167 parties. Malawi is yet to be a party to the FCTC.
According to the WHO, “African countries are experiencing the highest increase in the rate of tobacco use amongst developing countries. In the African region tobacco consumption is increasing by 4.3 percent per year.” This development is driven in part by the tobacco industry, which increasingly targets the developing world as barriers rise and smoking rates fall in more “mature” markets around the world.
Onigbogi pointed that, this period is very timely for Malawi in making a landmark decision of forging ahead in tobacco control in southern Africa, and make a bold statement that Malawi holds the welfare of her citizens as paramount even as the World No Tobacco Day is celebrated globally.
The Africa Tobacco Control Regional Initiative is supported by Cancer Research UK and the American Cancer Society (ACS) and hosted by the Environmental rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria.
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