Two African Nations See Meningitis Outbreak
A meningitis outbreak in Niger and Nigeria has killed more than 200 people just in the last week, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Nigeria’s WHO spokesman, Dr. Olaokun Soyinka, told CNN that the epidemic started in January and that the spread of the disease is highest during the country’s dry season, which ends in May. During the first three months of the year, the nations have seen almost 25,000 suspected meningitis cases and more than 1,500 deaths, reports the health organization. Other African nations, however, have seen less than 50 cases a week on average, reports CNN . Since the Niger and Nigeria are experiencing a lack of vaccines, health officials have turned to “effective prevention,” where they’ll just vaccinate those who are in and around regions experiencing an outbreak, Soyinka said. Meningitis is a condition where the membranes that protect the brain and spinal cord are inflamed. The inflammation could be caused by viruses or bacteria. This kind of meningitis, Neisseria meningitidis, is very dangerous because of its ability to transform into an epidemic.  

Rape and Incest Case Stuns Colombians

The case involving Colombian Arcebio Alvarez, a 59-year-old man accused of raping his daughter several times and having eight children with her, has shocked the South American nation. Alvarez, whom local media refer to as the “monster of Mariquita” is so hated, he needs protection from the army and police for his court appearance, reports the BBC. He denies any wrongdoing, and in fact, claims his daughter was adopted. “We agreed to have a romantic relationship because we really loved each other,” he told the court. Read the rest.

Niger government ordered to pay $20,000 to ex-slave. The government of Niger must pay a woman $20,000 (10 million West African francs) who, at 12, was sold into slavery and held captive for 10 years, ruled a West African court reports The Associated Press. Niger is at fault because it failed to enforce its laws against slavery, the court ruled.  The former slave at the center of the case, Hadijatou Mani, who is now 24, told the court she was forced into work as a servant and a sex slave until she was freed in 2005. Her former master only freed her because he apparently wanted her to become his wife legally. Slavery was banned in Niger in 2003. In her complaint (which she originally filed in Niger courts but decided to move to the West African court) Mani asked for 50 million francs. “If Niger’s judicial process had functioned normally, there would have been no need to call on an international court to re-judge this case,” Chaibou Kaber, her lawyer, said. The court ruled that Niger was “responsible for the inaction of its administrative and judicial arms,” said a statement read by the court’s president. The court is run by the Economic Community of West African States, of which 15 nations are a part. The body itself doesn’t have great power to force Niger to follow the ruling; however, a spokesman for the country said the government will abide by the ruling and pay Mani the judgment. This landmark ruling could serve as a wakeup call to Niger and other countries in the region and encourage officials to enforce anti-slavery laws more strongly. While West Africa has a history with slavery and some still openly hold slaves, many countries have begun to crackdown on the illegal practice.
Teachers in St. Vincent will end strike. Teachers in the St. Vincent and the Grenadines have ended their strike and are set to go back to work Tuesday, reports the BBC. Teachers in the Caribbean island nation had been on strike for two weeks because of a salary dispute. But the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers Union made the decision to end the strike during an emergency meeting last Friday, according to the union’s president, Joy Matthews.  The union is still strongly against the government’s plan to implement new salary scales for reclassification purposes that, according to teachers, would leave some earning less than they did before. Instead of the new salary scales put in place by a national public-sector re-grading program, they would like to see their pay increased.