By Vatican News

The African continent is now free from cases of wild polio, as global efforts to completely eradicate the virus continue to move in the right direction. Currently, only two countries in the world – Afghanistan and Pakistan – still report cases of polio.

On Tuesday, the Africa Regional Committee for Certification (ARCC), an independent regional body set up by the World Health Organisation (WHO), concluded that the transmission of the wild poliovirus strain has been interrupted in all 47 countries of the WHO African Region. 

This certification comes after Nigeria, the last African country with polio cases, recorded no new cases for the past four consecutive years. This announcement means that five of the six WHO regions, representing 90 percent of the world’s population is polio-free.

Certification of polio eradication is done on a regional basis. A region is only eligible for certification after all countries in the area show proof of the absence of wild poliovirus for at least three consecutive years, and demonstrate a high standard of surveillance for any outbreaks.

Polio, a crippling and potentially fatal infectious disease, has no cure but can be prevented by the administration of a vaccine. It is typically transmitted through contaminated water and usually affects children under five, sometimes leading to irreversible paralysis.

Combatting polio

By 1996, more than 75,000 children across Africa were affected by polio. That same year, the late Nelson Mandela launched the “Kick Polio Out of Africa” program which mobilized health workers and organisations to put in renewed efforts to ensure a polio-free Africa.

The final efforts to eradicate polio in Africa were concentrated largely on northeastern Nigeria after an outbreak was reported in 2016. Before that, the country had gone two years without any cases identified and had even been taken off the global list of polio-endemic countries in 2015.

Leading virologist and chairman of the Nigeria Expert Review Committee on Polio Eradication and Routine Immunization, Professor Oyewole Tomori, said that the country’s journey to eradicating polio began in 1977 when the WHO adopted the Universal Child Immunization Program. The goal, he explained at a press conference on Tuesday, was to vaccinate every child in the world against measles, tetanus, whooping cough and polio by 1990. However, by that deadline, Nigeria was barely able to achieve the 80 percent target.

Tomori explained some of the challenges to achieving this global health milestone include difficulty in accessing some areas in order to reach some populations, as well as a 2003 boycott of vaccines by some states in Nigeria due to unfounded rumors that they caused infertility. 

He recalled that in Kano state alone, approximately 3.7 million children went unvaccinated in 2004 due to the misinformation. The situation was further compounded by the outbreak of armed conflict in northern Nigeria which displaced millions of people. He said some of his colleagues were killed in the line of duty while trying to vaccinate children against polio.

Eradication: Looking ahead

This new certification does not mean that Africa is completely polio-free.

A vaccine-derived poliovirus – a rare mutated form of the virus – still remains in Africa with several dozen cases identified this year. Even though it is not the wild polio strain, it can still emerge among populations living in areas of low immunity.

In addition, immunization campaigns that have been effective in keeping numbers low have been significantly disrupted due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

By Robin Gomes

Fear over a revolutionary government surfaced again in the Philippines after an assembly in Pampanga on August 22 revived a long-running push for the establishment of a revolutionary government headed by Duterte. Citing the need to heal “all the ills of our society”, Duterte’s supporters want him to overthrow his own constitutionally mandated government, dump the Constitution and everything it stands for. 

Tackling real problems

Several Catholic bishops in the Philippines have raised concern over a call for a revolutionary government by supporters of President Rodrigo Duterte, saying it will only end in “chaos” rather than improvement in the country’s situation.

Caritas Philippines director, Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan, said that the call is not only inciting sedition, but it will, at best, ruin the government.

He warned that instead of solving the nation’s real problems, a revolutionary government will “use the Filipino people as pawns to justify vested interests”. 

Bishop Bagaforo said that rather than focusing too much on dividing the nation, Duterte must commit himself to handle the COVID pandemic more efficiently, support the private sector against recession, maximize government funds to aid education, and do better at defending human rights. The Caritas head urged Filipinos to watch out against “deceiving plots” against democracy and people’s welfare.

Betrayal of nation

Bishop Broderick Pabillo, the Apostolic Administrator of the Manila Archdiocese, agreed with Bishop Bagaforo. Describing a revolutionary government as unjust, immoral and seditious, he said such an act is a betrayal of the nation.

Archbishop Martin Jumoad of Ozamiz said the government should rather focus on the pandemic and the ongoing health crisis.  

For his part, Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga said that the proposal is not only unconstitutional but an “open admittance that the present government is a total failure.”

“They want to change the government just to install the same government officials. There is no sense, void of human reason,” he said.

Recalling the bitter experiences of the people under the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos, retired Bishop Arturo Bastes of Sorsogon warned that if such a plan is “pushed through, Filipinos will get impatient and something worse might happen”. 

Retired Bishop Teodoro Bacani of Novaliches denounced the supporters of a revolutionary government as “crazy”. 

Other groups reject the call

According to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), which brings together all the lawyers in the country, “There is no legal, factual, practical, or moral basis for a revolutionary government under the present circumstances.” “If the president truly cares about the country he vowed to serve, he should focus on solving imminent problems and get back to real work which is piling up,” said IBP national president Domingo Egon Cayosa in a statement.

Both the Philippine National Police and the Department of National Defense have said they would not support any calls for a revolutionary government.

The League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), the formal organisation of all of the Philippines’ 81 provinces, has also rejected the idea of a revolutionary government. According to LPP president, Presbitero J. Velasco Jr., the governor of Marinduque, if the goal is to make way for a federal form of government, there are constitutional means to do so. “An adventurist attempt at a revolutionary government might give the illusion that it is the solution to the problem but it will only aggravate the problem by creating anarchy and destabilisation,” Velasco said.  

By Lydia O’Kane

From 1 September to 4 October, Christians all over the world will celebrate the Season of Creation, as well as the Day of Creation on 1 September.

As in past years, both the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and The Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE), are encouraging Member Churches in Europe to come together over the course of the month to celebrate the “richness of the Christian faith as an expression to protect our common home.

Creation a gift for mankind

In a statement issued by Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, President of CCEE, and Rev. Christian Krieger, President of CEC, Creation is described as “a gift of God for mankind and for all living beings. It is, therefore, our responsibility to protect it as good and reliable stewards, and as faithful servants of God.”

Pope Francis’s call to protect our common home

They point out that Pope Francis, in his encyclical Laudato Si’, underlines, “the urgent challenge to protect our common home includes a concern to bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development.”

They also stress Pope Francis’s appeal “for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet.”

The eminent theologian Jurgen Moltmann, they highlight, calls for “a discernment of the God, who is present in creation through his Holy Spirit,” a discernment that “can bring men and women to reconciliation and peace with nature.”

Ecumenical dimension

Emphasizing the ecumenical dimension to the Season of Creation, the joint statement gives thanks for the proposal of the late Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I in 1989.

Since that time, the two presidents comment, “the idea of the Season of Creation and its ecumenical spirit has been further confirmed by the European Ecumenical Assemblies organised jointly by CEC and CCEE in Basel 1989, Graz 1997 and Sibiu 2007.”

COVID-19

This year, the Season will be observed in the midst of a global pandemic.

The Coronavirus, the statement reads, has shown “more than ever that we are not isolated from each other and that conditions related to human health and well-being are fragile.”

It goes on to say that the “impact of the pandemic forces us to take seriously the need for vigilance and the need for conditions of sustainable life throughout the earth. This is even more important when considering the environmental devastation and the threat of climate change.”

Jubilee for the Earth

In conclusion, the two presidents invite Christians to celebrate the Season of Creation this year under the heading of Jubilee for the Earth. “The concept of Jubilee,” they note, “is rooted in the Bible and underlines that there must exist a just and sustainable balance between social, economic and ecological realities.”

They also underline that “the lesson from the biblical concept of jubilee points us towards the need to restore balance in the very systems of life, affirming the need for equality, justice and sustainability and confirming the need for a prophetic voice in defence of our common home.” 

By Francesca Merlo

A year of Waste Management Plan at the Salesian Don Bosco Technologial Institute (DBTI) in Port Moresby. This is how a group of young people are responding to Pope Francis’s request to care for our common home.

The Strenna

Each year the Salesian Order focuses their work on a Strenna, or theme, released by the Rector Major, Fr Angel Artime. This year’s Strenna is “Good Christians, Upright Citizens”.

An article released on the website of the Episcopal Conference of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands explains that the year of Integrated Waste Management at DBTI is motivated by Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’ year, which began on 24 May. In addition, it emphasises “concrete inititives for the care of the environment as practical ways of exemplifying being upright citizens”.

The article, written by Fr Ariel Macatangay SDB, DBTI treasurer, explains that the council, focusing on Laudato Si’, is “proposing attitudes to be developed each month”. The points of emphasis for the months of June, July and August are the three terms commonly used to designate practical care for the environment: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

Waste Management at DBTI

There is a need for integrated Waste Management for DBTI, writes Fr Macatangay. Despite the numerous efforts focused on waste collections, such as the buying of willie-bins, weekly rubbish collection and selling of scrap metal “we are not sure if our rubbish is disposed of in an environmentally friendly way” and wish that all our waste be properly disposed of, with “our ultimate goal” being “Zero Waste”, he says.

In order to achieve this goal, Fr Macatangay calls for interested volunteers among both students and staff.

“In the meanwhile, efforts at recycling different types of waste are intensifying”, continues the article.

These initiatives at waste management take place even while the COVID-19 pandemic rages on. As of the moment, much of the effort in waste management is exerted by the student and staff residents. Soon, we hope to involve more and more people until every member of the educative pastoral community becomes aware and contributes responsibly for sustainable management of waste.

The future of Papua New Guinea

Finally, Fr Macatangay writes that as in other parts of the world, young people become protagnists of initiatives and concrete actions for the care and preservation of the environment. “We hope that our youths at DBTI and eventually of our locality can sustain their efforts at integrated waste management and contribute in making Papua New Guinea the Paradise of the Pacific”.

Vladimir Voronkov, Head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, said the global coronavirus crisis underscored the challenges involved in eliminating terrorism, as he presented the UN Security Council with the latest report on ISIL’s impact on international peace and security. 

“This pandemic environment raises several strategic and practical challenges for counter-terrorism, which we discussed during the Virtual Counter-Terrorism Week organized by my Office last month,” he told Council members during video-teleconference briefing. 

Since the start of this year, the threat has grown in conflict zones, as seen by the regrouping and increased activity of ISIL and some of its affiliates in Iraq and Syria, he explained. 

ISIL expands ‘opportunistic propaganda’ efforts amid pandemic 

In non-conflict areas, the threat seems to have decreased in the short term, with COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions apparently lowering the risk of attacks.   

However, “opportunistic propaganda efforts” by ISIL could be fuelling an ongoing trend of attacks by individuals and small groups, he said. 

Unclear, he added, is how the pandemic is affecting ISIL’s recruitment and fundraising efforts, or whether there is a change in strategic direction under its new leader, Amir Muhammad Sa’id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla. His predecessor, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed during a US military operation in Syria in 2019. 

Putting a spotlight on regional developments, Mr. Voronkov said that ISIL continues to consolidate its position in some parts of the Middle East previously under its control, “operating increasingly confidently and openly”. 

More than 10,000 ISIL fighters are estimated to be active in Iraq and Syria, moving freely in small cells between the two countries, he said, adding that 2020 has seen a “significant increase” in ISIL attacks in both States compared to 2019. 

COVID-19 and suspected terrorists  

The COVID-19 crisis has further complicated the already dire and unsustainable situation of several thousand people – especially women and children – with suspected links to ISIL. Some countries are still repatriating children, but there has been only limited progress on overcoming legal, political and practical hurdles to repatriation, he said. 

“The global threat from ISIL is likely to increase if the international community fails to meet this challenge,” Mr. Voronkov warned, calling for decisive action from Member States on humanitarian, human rights and security grounds. 

Turning to Africa, he described Islamic State in West Africa Province and its 3,500 members as a “major focus of ISIL global propaganda” as it reinforces its links with Islamic State in the Greater Sahara – “the most dangerous group in the tri-border area of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger”. 

While ISIL has only a few hundred fighters in Libya, it is exploiting tensions between ethnic groups and represents a portent threat capable of broader regional impact, he said, adding that ISIL could potentially expand its activities if the conflict in the North Africa nation escalates. 

In Europe, the main threat comes from Internet-driven homegrown terrorist radicalization, he said.  Acute concerns surround the release of prisoners with terrorist background and connections, while the rise of right-wing violent extremism means that intelligence services in some European countries are shifting their priorities away from ISIL. 

Looking towards Asia, he said that ISIL’s affiliate in Afghanistan, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan, remains capable of high-profile attacks – despite territorial losses and the arrest of its leaders – as it seeks to use the country to spread its influence across the region and to attract fighters who oppose the peace agreement between the Taliban and the United States. 

“As a female traditional leader, my aim is to be a role model within my chiefdom. I want to ensure that we collectively challenge social and traditional norms and practices that negatively affect our women and girls”, said Kawaza, chieftainess of the Chewa people.

Leading more than 650 villages with some 100,000 inhabitants, she is one of many traditional and community leaders throughout Eastern Province who are contesting these dangerous practices. 

“Many girls are forced to drop out of school in order to undergo initiation rites”, which often include inaccurate information about sexual and reproductive health, the chieftainess noted. 

And in some cases, young people are encouraged to “practice” sexual activity that can lead to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, as well as unintended pregnancy.

“[I] instructed the traditional counsellors who conduct the initiation rites to revise the curriculum to focus only on progressive topics and cultural practices that promote respect for human rights” Chieftainess Kawaza said. 

“I have also issued a directive for all traditional ceremonies to take place only during school holidays”.

Changing minds

The Chieftainess has seen a transformation in perceptions around these practices, and not just in Zambia. Similar efforts are helping to change beliefs and practices all around the world, a new publication shows.

How Changing Social Norms is Crucial in Achieving Gender Equality demonstrates how this approach has successfully helped to end harmful customs in different regions of the world. 

It also highlights common steps that can be applied to changing all kinds of discriminatory norms to achieve gender equality.

A recipe for change

“The second element is discussion, value deliberation and education. It can take place in girls’ schools, among parents groups, through television and radio, or in open spaces,” said Nafissatou Diop, UNFPA’s chief of gender and human rights, who spearheaded the new publication. “Diverse forces and ideas and positions need to be confronted and need to come together in that discussion”.

The key, experts say, is empowering community members to deliberate on how their practices relate to their own deeply held values. And this leads to transformation. 

The steps – the identification of a harmful norm, advocacy by prominent individuals, the exchange of experiences and perspectives within the community, and finally calls for change – can arise organically or be applied deliberately, the new publication notes. 

Stemming female circumcisions 

The approach has successfully driven collective action around the world, reaching millions. 

“One of the successful interventions has been the public declarations of the abandonment of female genital mutilation”, said Lacina Zerbo, who works for UNFPA in Burkina Faso. “More than four million people have publicly abandoned FGM”.

Supported by the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of FGM, similar efforts have reached more than 34 million people in 16 countries and have led to a raft of new laws and policies.

The process, Mr. Zerbo said, depends on “creating trust between community members and influencers or decision-makers”.

‘Influencers are key’

“Influencers are key to transforming norms”, said Ms. Diop. 

She maintained that they can be traditional, religious or political leaders, depending on the context. 

Discussing together

Community members should be encouraged to listen to and reflect on new ideas.  

“The second element is discussion, value deliberation and education. It can take place in girls’ schools, among parents groups, through television and radio, or in open spaces,” Ms. Diop said. “Diverse forces and ideas and positions need to be confronted and need to come together in that discussion”.

Marketplace of ideas

Abandoning detrimental norms is a normal part of progress. 

Ms. Diop pointed out that “from foot binding to different types of gender violence”, over the last few centuries communities have gradually and collectively halted discriminatory social standards.

Virtual world

Recently, with digital platforms and social media, new ideas are never more than a click away and marginalized voices around the world are being amplified.

“With social media, people are able to galvanize and activate change in any part of the world, especially among those battling discriminatory norms,” said Ms. Diop, emphasizing the importance of empowering marginalized groups raise their voices.

“Social media has given communities, and youth, in particular, the power of unity to drive collective change. And this is what we need: collective behaviour to make changes that make the world a more equal place”, she concluded.