Shock in Ghana over gruesome death of 'witch'

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• 'Ritual killing' rescue in Ghana
• Is witchcraft alive in Africa?

There has been widespread shock in Ghana over the death of a 72-year-old woman accused of being a witch.

The woman, who lived in the port city of Tema, near Accra, was allegedly set on fire by a group of five adults, one of whom is believed to be a pastor.

The suspects say her death was an accident, and deny committing any crime.

The BBC's David Amanor in Accra says belief in witches is common among both educated and uneducated Ghanaians.

Three women and two men have been arrested, aged between 37 and 55.

Police say the suspects tortured the woman, Ama Hemmah, until she confessed to being a witch, before dousing her with kerosene and setting her on fire.

She died from her injuries the following day.

According to reports, the suspects say that they poured anointing oil on the woman which caught fire as they were trying to drive out an evil spirit.

Our correspondent says newspaper pictures showing the woman's injuries have caused revulsion in Ghana, and the incident has been condemned by human rights and women's activists.

Our correspondent says there have been other cases of violence against women accused of being witches, and a government-backed commission has urged religious and civil society groups to help tackle the problem.

HIV Drugs May Prevent Infection in Healthy Individuals

As effective as the antiviral drugs have been in controlling the spread of HIV, the ultimate goal of any AIDS therapy is to prevent infection with the virus in the first place. And so far, nothing — from vaccines to gels — has proven up to the task of holding off HIV.

But in an exciting study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers report that the very drugs that have helped to quell HIV in already infected patients may be effective in blocking infection in healthy, uninfected individuals as well. (More on Time.com: How Not to Get Sick)

In a trial involving nearly 2,500 HIV-negative gay men who were at high risk of contracting HIV, in six countries, scientists found that those who took the currently prescribed treatment dose of a combination anti-HIV medications known as Truvada had a 44% lower rate of HIV infection than those taking a placebo during the study's longest follow up of nearly three years. Among those who took their medications more faithfully on a daily basis, the benefit was even greater; their risk of acquiring HIV dropped to 73% compared to placebo.

“These results represent a major advance in HIV prevention research,” said Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Center for HIV-AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention in a statement. “For the first time, we have evidence that a daily pill used to treat HIV is partially effective for preventing HIV among gay and bisexual men at high risk for infection.”

The excitement was echoed by others in the HIV community, who have been pushing for a stronger preventive strategy to combat the growing epidemic of cases, particularly in the developing world. “The study is really quite impressive, and the data are very robust, really strong,” says Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The NIH, along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, funded the study, which took place at 11 different sites. (More on Time.com: Are HIV Rates in Gay Men Really 'Out of Control'?)

Fauci is particularly encouraged by the data, since a closer look at the difference in HIV infection rates among those taking medications suggests that any exposure to the potent anti-HIV drugs can be effective in thwarting infection. For instance, among those in the drug arm, the volunteers who showed any measurable level of medication, no matter how faithfully they were popping their daily pills, had a 13-fold lower rate of HIV infection than those who showed no measurable level of drug in their system. “This is really huge; this is a very impressive result,” he says. “As with any new treatment strategy, it's all about whether you adhere to the regimen.”

In fact, Fauci suspects that many physicians are already prescribing antiretroviral medications this way, in an attempt to head off infections in uninfected but high-risk individuals. These findings should bolster that practice, he believes, even as government health officials decide whether the results are robust enough to justify recommending anti-HIV drugs as a prevention strategy.

In the meantime, while the positive results suggest that antiretroviral drugs may be a critical part of a strong prevention program, experts note that the findings are not a license to abandon safe sex with condoms. The drugs do not alter the immune system in any way, nor does it prime the body the way that a vaccine would against HIV. These medications act only in the presence of HIV, to block its ability to infect and replicate in the body's healthy cells, so the prevention strategy simply ensures that the drugs are in place, ready to act at the first encounter with the virus. The study participants were also all educated about risk-reduction practices, such as safe sex, and were provided with condoms and counseling as well as treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. (More on Time.com: Portugal's Drug Experience: New Study Confirms Decriminalization Was a Success)

“[The] results are exciting, but it is not time for anyone to stop using condoms or stop following proven prevention methods,” said Fenton. “[The study] cannot be seen as the first line of defense against HIV.”

Fauci agrees, adding that more research will be needed to assess the effectiveness of the drugs in preventing infection among women, as well as heterosexual men. And because the drugs do have side effects, including potentially unhealthy changes in lipid levels, other studies will also investigate whether people could use the drugs intermittently as a prevention-based strategy — only, for example, when they plan on being sexually active.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2010/11/23/hiv-drugs-may-prevent-infection-in-healthy-individuals/#ixzz16WtNQ8L7

Two Blacks Chosen for Prestigious Rhodes Scholarship

The Rhodes Trust recently named two African-American students Rhodes Scholars. 

Fagan Harris of Glen Burnie, Md. and Esther Udehi of Evansville, Ind. will join 30 other Americans and travel to England next October to study at Oxford University. 

Harris is a 2009 graduate of Stanford University in California where he holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and American studies. He’s currently completing a Masters degree in human rights and criminal justice at the University of Limerick in Ireland as a Mitchell Scholar. He plans to pursue a doctorate in philosophy while at Oxford. 

Udehi is a senior at Indiana University, Bloomington, where she majors in biochemistry and mathematics. In addition to serving as a visiting student at Oxford, she was also a Wells Scholar, Presidential Intern and Senator Richard Lugar Scholar. At Oxford, Udehi plans to pursue a doctorate in chemistry. 

This year’s winners were chosen from 837 applicants from 309 different colleges and universities across the globe. The scholarship pays expenses for two or three years of study at the renowned university and is worth an estimated $50,000 per year. 

Often hailed as the “oldest and most prestigious international graduate scholarship program in the world,” the Rhodes Scholarship was created in 1902 by British philanthropist Cecil Rhodes. Rhodes, who acquired wealth from his diamond mining empire in South Africa, set up provisions for the program in his will. 

Applicants for the scholarship are first endorsed by their respective universities. After a committee in each of the 16 U.S. districts invites the strongest students to appear before them for an interview, the winners are chosen based on criteria set by Rhodes. Ideal students exhibit integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership and physical vigor. 

Past recipients of the award include the 1st Black Rhodes Scholar, philosopher, educator and writer about the Harlem Renaissance, Alain Locke; former U.S. President Bill Clinton; the 2nd Black Rhodes Scholar, nationally acclaimed writer John E. Wideman; current NAACP President Benjamin T. Jealous; and more recently Myron Rolle, all-ACC Defensive Back, Florida State Seminoles and 6th round draft pick in the 2010 NFL Draft of the Tennessee Titans.

South Africa Rape Study: More Than 1 In 3 Men Admit To Rape

NASTASYA TAY | 11/26/10 04:47 PM | 

JOHANNESBURG — A new survey says more than one in three South African men admit to having committed rape.

A 2010 study led by the government-funded Medical Research Foundation says that in Gauteng province, home to South Africa's most populous city of Johannesburg, more than 37 percent of men said they had raped a woman. Nearly 7 percent of the 487 men surveyed said they had participated in a gang rape.

More than 51 percent of the 511 women interviewed said they'd experienced violence from men, and 78 percent of men said they'd committed violence against women.

A quarter of the women interviewed said they'd been raped, but the study says only one in 25 rapes are reported to police.

A survey by the same organization in 2008 found that 28 percent of men in Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces said they had raped a woman or girl. Of the men who had committed rape, one third did not feel guilty, said Rachel Jewkes, a lead researcher on both studies.

Two-thirds of the men surveyed in that study said they raped because of a sense of sexual entitlement. Other popular motivating factors included a desire to punish women who rejected or angered them, and raping out of boredom, Jewkes said.

"Rape is completely trivialized by a great number of men. It is seen as a legitimate activity," she said.

Jewkes believes South Africa's history of racial division and associated trauma is part of the reason of the high incidence of sexual violence in the country.

"Apartheid has contributed to culture of impunity surrounding rape in South Africa," said Jewkes. Men who were abused or experienced trauma during their childhood are much more likely to rape, she said, adding that apartheid destroyed family life, fostering violence and anti-social behavior.

The apartheid period also saw very little enforcement of common law, which has contributed to a culture of impunity, said Jewkes.

"We need to start interventions in childhood, focusing on building a more empowering childhood environment in South Africa, especially for boys," she said, "and we need to make it worth their while for women to report sexual violence."

The new study, conducted with a gender rights advocacy body, is the first community-based study of its kind with women in 12 years.

The group hopes to replicate the study across southern Africa.

Can prostate cancer be caused by environmental factors?

Prostate cancer is a growing problem for men in the U.S. as well as in other developed nations around the world. Some 40,000 American men lose their battle with prostate cancer every year—the only cancer more deadly for U.S. men is skin cancer.

Age is the primary “risk factor” for developing prostate cancer. One out of every six American men over the age of 40 will develop prostate cancer, while four out of five over 80 years old will get it. Of course, genes also play a big role. The American Cancer Society reports that a man’s prostate cancer risk doubles if his father or brother has suffered from the disease. Researchers believe a genetic predisposition accounts for as many as 10 percent of all cases of the disease in the U.S.

Beyond age and genetics, though, environmental factors do likely play a role. WebMD reports, for instance, that prostate cancer occurs about 60 percent more often in African-American men than in white American men, and when diagnosed is more likely to be advanced. But interestingly enough, prostate cancer rates for African men living in their native countries are much lower. When native Africans immigrate to the U.S., however, prostate cancer rates increase sharply.

According to WebMD, the reason for these differences is not fully understood, but an environmental connection—possibly related to high-fat diets, less exposure to the sun, exposure to heavy metals, infectious agents, or smoking—might be to blame. Some new research suggests that a switch to a diet high in fat could be a significant contributing factor in these cases.

“The disease is much more common in countries where meat and dairy products are dietary staples,” adds WebMD.

The take-away for men concerned about prostate health is to eat healthier. Several studies suggest that a diet high in lycopene (an antioxidant found in high levels in tomatoes, pink grapefruit, watermelon and some other fruits and veggies) could lower an individual’s risk of developing prostate cancer significantly.

Researchers have also found links between other environmental factors and prostate cancer. Dr. Matthew Schmitz, a prostate cancer specialist at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital and the prostate cancer “guide” at About.com, reports that exposure to high levels of cadmium (a naturally occurring element used in industrial processes and present in cigarette smoke) as well as dioxins (chemicals widely used in herbicides and other applications) have been linked to increased prostate cancer risk. Other researchers have noticed that men who take calcium supplements and multi-vitamins regularly may be at higher risk.

Schmitz says that more research is needed to learn how risky such exposures really are.

For those who do get prostate cancer, some promising new treatments will be undergoing clinical trials soon. Dr. Marianne Sadar of the BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver, Canada, has used an experimental drug adapted from sea sponges to shrink cancer tumors in mice. It will be a year before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration permits trials of the new drug on humans, but prostate patients and their doctors are holding out hope that this and other new treatments can obviate the need for many surgeries.

Passive smoking 'kills 600,000' worldwide

The first global study into the effects of passive smoking has found it causes 600,000 deaths every year.

One-third of those killed are children, often exposed to smoke at home, the World Health Organization (WHO) found.

The study, in 192 countries, found that passive smoking is particularly dangerous for children, said to be at higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome, pneumonia and asthma.

Passive smoking causes heart disease, respiratory illness and lung cancer.

"This helps us understand the real toll of tobacco," said Armando Peruga, of the WHO's Tobacco-Free Initiative, who led the study.

'Deadly combination'

The study used estimates of the incidence of specific diseases and of the number of people exposed to second-hand smoke in particular areas.

The global health body said it was particularly concerned about the estimated 165,000 children who die of smoke-related respiratory infections, mostly in South East Asia and in Africa.

It said that this group was more exposed to passive smoking than any other group, principally in their own homes.

"The mix of infectious diseases and second-hand smoke is a deadly combination," Mr Peruga said.

As well as being at increased risk of a series of respiratory conditions, the lungs of children who breathe in passive smoke may also develop more slowly than children who grow up in smoke-free homes.

Worldwide, as many as 40% of children, 33% of non-smoking men and 35% non-smoking women were exposed to second-hand smoke in 2004, researchers found.

This exposure was estimated to have caused 379,000 deaths from heart disease, 165,000 from lower respiratory infections, 36,900 from asthma and 21,400 from lung cancer.

According to the study, the highest numbers of people exposed to second-hand smoke are in Europe and Asia and the lowest rates of exposure were in the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean and Africa.

The research also revealed that passive smoking had a large impact on women, killing about 281,000 worldwide. This is due to the fact that in many parts of the world, the study suggests, women are at least 50% more likely to be exposed to second-hand smoke than men.

However, the researchers said were limitations to the study, including uncertainties about the underlying health data and gaps in the data relating to exposure to second-hand smoke.

Writing in the Lancet, Dr Heather Wipfli of the University of Southern California and colleagues, said: "There are well acknowledged uncertainties in estimates of disease burden.

"However, there can be no question that the 1.2bn smokers in the world are exposing billions of non-smokers to second-hand smoke, a disease-causing indoor air pollutant."

HIV epidemic 'halted', says UN

23 November 10 10:58

The number of new HIV infections and deaths from Aids are falling globally, according to new statistics from the UN's programme on HIV/Aids.

There are now signs the epidemic is declining, it says, however, stigma and discrimination continue to cause problems for the estimated 33m people living with HIV.

Last year there were 2.6m new HIV infections.

This is down almost 20% since the peak of the Aids epidemic in 1999.

In 2009, 1.8m died from Aids-related illnesses, down from 2.1m in 2004.

Mixed progress

The report says rates of treatment using anti-retroviral drugs have risen from 700,000 in 2004 to over 5m people in 2009.

Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region most affected by the epidemic, with around 70% of all new HIV infections occurring here.

But infection rates are falling, particularly in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia.

There is a mixed picture in other parts of the world.

Eastern Europe and central Asia show sharp rises in new infections and Aids-related deaths.

And the UN says bad laws and discrimination, particularly in respect to drug users and homosexuals, continue to hamper the fight against Aids.

"We are breaking the trajectory of the Aids epidemic with bold actions and smart choices," said Mr Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAids.

"Investments in the Aids response are paying off, but gains are fragile - the challenge now is how we can all work to accelerate progress."

Head Coach Raheem Morris's Bucs go from bluster to blueprint to become the NFL's biggest surprise

TAMPA, Fla. -- Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber would feel the same momentary adrenaline rush as his teammates last year when new coach Raheem Morris addressed them the night before games. How could he not? Morris has a flair for public speaking. His personality is larger than the conference rooms his team occupies on Saturday nights, and his rapid-fire speech and colorful expressions can take you back to Sundays in church or childhood afternoons on the playground.

Still, there were times when Barber would walk away from the meetings needing more. You don't last 14 years in the NFL, as Barber has, by relying solely on emotion. He needed to hear not only what the Bucs were going to do to an opponent, but also how they were going to do it.

More blueprint, less bluster, if you will.

"Raheem is from Irvington, N.J., and he approaches life and football like a kid that's from the streets," says Barber, who at 35 is one year older than Morris. "It's great with the players because they all relate to him one way or another, but there's a lot more to this game than the hype or the energy that you put on your team. It's about how you structure your team, how you structure their attitudes toward going to play on Sunday."

The Bucs, who travel to Baltimore for a showdown between 7-3 clubs Sunday, are the biggest surprise of the season not only because their young players are quick-studies, but also because their head coach is a fast learner. He realized midway through last year's 3-13 disaster that the team lacked a defined plan for success, that he couldn't simply will it to victory through tough talk and brash statements.

So instead of having an offense, defense and special teams that were playing as independent units -- living under the same roof, but in separate rooms -- he fired his defensive coordinator and took over the play-calling duties. Then he gave veterans such as Barber just what they had been looking for: a detailed plan for success.

The Bucs would be built around their defense, run the ball on offense, play field position on special teams, and try to keep the score close so they could make a play in the fourth quarter to win. Damned if that hasn't happened.

Second-year QB Josh Freeman has 10 wins since moving into the starting lineup midway through last season. Six of them have been via fourth-quarter comebacks.

"Early on, from the outside, I was trying to marry all three phases of the game without being hands on," Morris says. "It wasn't working, so I had to do something. Once I put myself into the defensive phase of it, I started managing the game and the team through a defensive mentality."

Last season, the Bucs surrendered 33 or more points in five of their first 10 games with Jim Bates at defensive coordinator. They allowed more than 20 only once over the remaining six games. In typical Morris flair, he says he was unwilling to stand on the street and watch the Bucs' house burn down. "I needed to get an ax," he says, "and go in and try to put out the blaze."

He started by going back to the Tampa 2 scheme with which so many players were familiar. As the defense regained its confidence, Morris began adding his own twists and coverages. Some defenders now refer to it as the Tampa 2.1."

"Our character really changed when Raheem took over the defense," says veteran linebacker Barrett Ruud. "He started playing to our strengths. We don't have a lot of size, so we have to play to our strengths. We had to start using what we had. He did that. We started playing more zones and letting guys like Ronde and (cornerback) Aqib Talib be greedy. They're both smart players and they can jump routes and read routes. And we added a couple of D-linemen that are extremely athletic. We're getting more and more versatile, which is what we want."

The Bucs success is even more remarkable when considering they have the league's youngest team, with an average age of just under 26. They started six rookies and two second-year players in last week's 21-0 spanking of San Francisco, and the week before they started seven rookies and played 12 overall in a victory over the Panthers.

General manager Mark Dominik and his personnel staff have been unrelenting in their quest to find quality youngsters. They've brought in 21 players since Sept. 4, when final roster cuts were made, and a handful have made major contributions.

Running back LeGarrette Blount is one. Since being claimed off waivers from Tennessee he leads all rookies with an average of 63 yards rushing a game and is tied for first with four touchdowns. Rookie guard Ted Larsen is another find. He has started five games since being claimed off waivers from New England.

Toss them into a rookie mix that includes wideout Mike Williams, who leads all first-year receivers with 681 yards and is tied for first with six TDs, and defensive lineman Gerald McCoy, who has played every position up front and taken nearly every snap since being drafted third overall in April, and you have the makings of a solid foundation.

"The success that we're having is a combination of good talent and good coaching," says Dominik. "Our coaches have really bought into what we're trying to do in terms of the youth movement. They really know how to work with young guys and we're seeing the rewards of that right now."

Critics point out that the Bucs are 0-3 against teams with winning records and were blown out by 25 points against both the Steelers and Saints, but viewing the Bucs' season through such a narrow prism is folly at best. Tampa knows it still has a ways to go. Its players aren't beating their chests and talking Super Bowls.

All they're doing is working hard and trying to get better. They leave the talking to their coach, who took some heat a few weeks ago when he called the Bucs the best team in the NFC prior to playing the NFC South-leading Falcons.

You can take the man out of Irvington, but you can't take Irvington out of the man. Or can you? Privately some wonder if Morris sounded off in a calculated attempt to put the focus on him and not his young team that week. That it was more blueprint than bluster. Barber has seen a definite difference in Saturday night team meetings.

"Raheem has done a great job of evolving," he says. "Over the course of a year he has become more structured in his approach. He has toned back his street cred (chuckles). It's more of an administrative deal now, the way he approaches meetings. I remember the first game last year, the team meeting was like a rah-rah speech. Not high school, but how you would talk to your boys. Like you're out with your guys and you're getting ready to play a pickup game or something, and y'all are getting fired up and you're talking trash. That's kind of what it was like.

"Sometimes he'd let the emotion of it overweigh the real mental aspect of the game. But you know this: It's not like you just go out and play on Sunday. There's a lot more that goes into it. It's not all emotion. He's done a good job of managing his emotions with a young football team. It's one of the reasons we are where are. He deserves a lot of credit."

Health officials to roll-out cheap meningitis vaccine

The meningitis A vaccine, which costs just 30p per dose, will be be launched on 6 December in Burkina Faso, west Africa. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA


30p meningitis vaccine could help millions in Africa


Sarah Boseley, health editor
The Guardian, Tue 23 Nov 2010 11.37 GMT

Meningitis epidemics that rage across Africa every year, killing thousands, may be brought to an end by a new vaccine designed and manufactured to cost only a small fraction of the prices charged by big pharma.

The meningitis A vaccine will be launched on 6 December in Burkina Faso, which aims to vaccinate every person between one and 29 before the annual epidemic hits the meningitis belt from mid-January to mid-April.

The epidemic sweeps across 25 countries from Senegal in the west to Somalia in the east. The worst occurred in 1997, affecting 250,000 and killing 25,000. Children and young adults are most at risk.

The vaccine is revolutionary because it has been developed without the help of the giant pharmaceutical companies and is aimed at the needs – and wallets – of an African population. It will cost just 50 cents a dose (about 30p).

It has come about through a collaboration between the World Health Organisation, which saw the urgency of the need after the 1997 epidemic, and Path, a nonprofit organisation based in Seattle that looks for technological solutions to global health problems.

Major pharmaceutical companies were approached for help but were too expensive. Path recruited the Serum Institute of India because it could deliver the vaccine at an affordable price.

The cost of developing the vaccine, MenAfriVac, was about $50m (£31m), said Dr Marc LaForce from Path, leading the project. It was paid for by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. "That's about one-tenth of what is usually described as the cost of developing a new vaccine," he said.

Cost is a matter of arithmetic, he added. "Price is a strategy; there doesn't have to be a relationship between the cost of goods and price."

Dr Jean-Marie Okwo-Bele, at the World Health Organisation, said the introduction of an affordable vaccine against meningitis A in Africa "is truly a huge accomplishment in public health. This will affect the lives of 450 million people who are at risk of this disease in the meningitis belt."

In an ordinary year, there are 50,000 cases of meningitis, which can cause deafness and mental retardation, and 5,000 deaths. "It is a dreadful disease," said Okwo-Bele, who saw it in his own country, the Democratic Republic of Congo. "Travelling in the villages that were affected, you could feel the fear in the populations. You could see empty streets because people are so afraid to be in contact with each other."

The trials show the vaccine is more than 98% effective and protection is expected to last for 10 to 15 years. If it were to be rolled out to at least 70% of the population in all 25 countries, it could eradicate meningitis epidemics.

There is excitement not only over the potential of the vaccine against meningitis A but also the possibility that other vaccines for impoverished populations hard-hit by disease could be developed effectively and cheaply.

Until now, the developing world has had to wait for major pharmaceutical companies to develop sophisticated vaccines that also have a use in the affluent world, and the donor community has had to pay substantial sums of money to subsidise the research and development.

Vaccines for pneumococcal disease and for rotavirus (a major cause of diarrhoeal disease), which are the two biggest killers of children, have been developed by companies including GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer after an Advance Market Commitment by donor countries to pay. The price per dose, even after the subsidy, of the pneumococcal vaccine is $3.50 – several times the price of MenAfriVac.

The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi), which channels donor money into vaccine programmes, is trying to raise sufficient money for the more expensive pneumococcal and rotavirus programmes.

It is providing $30m for the MenAfriVac roll-out in three countries – Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – and $55m to help control outbreaks, but has not committed to the $370m (plus $150m from the affected countries) needed to immunise the entire meningitis belt. Gavi is struggling to raise the money it needs from international donors to fund its programmes.