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INSIDE AFRICA
Fighting Malaria, World Cup 2010 Preview
Aired June 6, 2009 - 12:30:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, and welcome to INSIDE AFRICA. I'm Isha Sesay. On the program this week, using flower power to combat a deadly disease. We'll show you a new weapon in the fight against malaria. And with just one year to go, Patrick Snell gives us an update on some African footballers to watch heading into the 2010 World Cup.
But first, South African President Jacob Zuma has just given his first state of the nation address in a climate of economic uncertainty. With a country now officially in a recession, Robyn Curnow lays out the challenges the president and his people are facing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: South African President Jacob Zuma gave his first speech to parliament since taking up office. And South African parliamentarians turned up in their finest to hear their new leader speak. Who else was there? Well, Thabo Mbeki, Kgalema Motlanthe and Nelson Mandela, the former South African presidents. And the fact that these men were all there is perhaps an indication that the bitter power struggle that split the ANC in the run-up to Jacob Zuma's election has at least been publicly laid to rest.
Now, what did Jacob Zuma have to say? Well, he promised to add 500,000 new jobs to the South African economy by increasing expenditure on infrastructure projects. Just how he was going to do this in the current economic climate -- well, he didn't give many more details. In fact, he admitted that the situation South Africans faced was dire.
JACOB ZUMA, SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: It is more important now than ever that we work in partnership on a common program to respond to this crisis.
CURNOW: Just remember, unemployment is nearly 25 percent, and the South African economy shrank in the first quarter of this year by more than six percent. And Jacob Zuma himself acknowledged that for the first time in seventeen years, South Africa has entered a recession.
ZUMA: While South Africa has not been affected to the extent that a number of other countries have, its effects are now being clearly seen in our economy. We have entered a recession.
CURNOW: Now, despite the economic problems, Zuma also said that he'd step up the fight against HIV and AIDS, and he would also try and improve the delivery of services to South Africa's frustrated poor.
ZUMA: The newly formed Infrastructure Development Cluster of government will ensure that the planned 787 billion rand infrastructure expenditure as provided for in the budget earlier this year, is properly planned for and executed. This funding includes allocations for the school building program, public transport, including the bus rapid transit system, housing, water and sanitation.
CURNOW: Now, the president's agenda could be severely hampered by a rather militant union movement here in South Africa. Cosatu, or the confederation of Trade Unions, is already threatening widespread strikes in the coming months over wage disputes. Also, the Communications Union is saying that they might strike over the Confederation's Cup football tournament in the coming weeks. It's these kinds of issues that really don't play into Jacob Zuma's hands. In fact, it makes the next few months in the beginning of this administration a litany of challenges that he has to overcome. Robyn Curnow, CNN, Johannesburg, South Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Certainly, a tough time to be at the helm in South Africa. Be sure to tune into INSIDE AFRICA next week, when Robyn Curnow covers World Economic Forum in Cape Town. She'll be hosting a roundtable discussion of African leaders, and they'll certainly have a lot to talk about.
With the 2010 World Cup just a year away, Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o is riding high. He tops off a stellar season with a goal at Barcelona's Champion League victory. We'll get a 2010 preview from our Patrick Snell.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Welcome back to INSIDE AFRICA. We're just a year out from the 2010 World Cup. So, it's a good time to take stock of some of the big African storylines in football. I stopped by the "World Sport" newsroom for a chat with Pat -- Patrick Snell, that is. And I asked him to bring us up to date on key players like Eto'o and Drogba.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK SNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The European season is now done, but of course it's the usual suspects, the big, the powerhouse players. Samuel Eto`o, who won at Barcelona, Didier Drogba as well. Adebayor, Martins --- these players all -- just look at Eto`o, look at Samuel Eto`o, 30 Primera Liga goals.
SESAY (on camera): Incredible!
SNELL: For Barcelona. And he's won the European Cup again. He played, he scored early on in that match against Manchester United. He has ended the season on a real, real high. Of course, football is fickle, though. How will his form develop over the next few months? He'd rather be going into the World Cup right now, I imagine, he`s on such a high.
SESAY: Absolutely. Eto'o's form really on the up -- at least so it seems at the end of the season. But Didier Drogba, he seems to be on a slightly different path.
SNELL: He's had a tough season, Didier Drogba. But yeah, he ended the season on a high. He scored a goal in the English FA Cup final against Everton. We know he's all muscle and brawn and he has power, he's strong. Defenses are scared of him.
(CROSSTALK)
SNELL: You hit the nail on the head. I think there is a little bit of that. Would I say it to his face? No, never. I wouldn't. And he's got this UEFA disciplinary hearing hanging over him right now. He's not going to know his fate until mid-June. I understand, you know, in all likelihood, he is going to get a three-match ban, and that's going to affect him again at the start of the -- of next season as well.
SESAY: Let's talk Adebayor and Martins now. I mean, what does the future hold for them, do you think, in terms of the World Cup? Do you see them really coming into form then?
SNELL: Well, of course African -- African qualifying is not yet decided. We know that Togo -- Togo -- I mean, they benefit enormously from Adebayor's sheer presence. And he's developed so much. He's still a very young forward, learning his game both at international level. He's blossomed in the English Premier League. He's highly coveted. A lot of clubs out there would like his services, because he offers this unique perspective. He's so tall, and -- and powerful in the air, and that's how Arsenal used him. Arsene Wenger has really got the best out of him. He needs to be more prolific in terms of finding the back of the net.
Martins is considered without doubt one of Newcastle's most exciting players. And I think there'll be other top clubs in Spain as well, I think I know he has his fans there, but Obafemi Martins a real talent, and Nigerian football is blessed because of it.
SESAY: South Africa, as you know, just announced it's going into recession.
SNELL: Yeah.
SESAY: What does that mean for the World Cup?
SNELL: Well, the old infrastructure issue as well is going to be a problem. And if morale is low, if people are losing jobs and not getting to work, then, you know, morale is definitely going to be on a low.
I was in South Africa about two years, just over two years ago. The stadiums were a long way then from being complete. Now, it appears they are on track. FIFA seemed confident that everything is going to be ready on time.
SESAY: What is your sense as you -- you check out the media, and you listen to people on the continent? What's your sense of the level of excitement about this World Cup?
SNELL: Oh, we know Africa loves its football. My people I talked to in South Africa in particular -- yes, they're looking forward, they're very proud that the FIFA World Cup is coming to Africa for the first time ever, and that they are hosting it. But, you know, they love their domestic football there .
SESAY: Yes.
SNELL: . and that's a real passion for them. But pricing is still an issue, and the logistics, you know, over there -- they like to roll up 40 minutes before a kick-off or even less. You can't do that. You need -- you need to have your ticket. Often, you'll need to prove that you have it, you know, there's a certain geography away (ph) from the stadium as well. Everything is kind of hard or harder to what they're used to. And I know, you know, Africa needed a World Cup.
SESAY: Yeah.
SNELL: They've never had it in South Africa. South Africans (inaudible) the nation is proud, I believe. But there could be a few real issues along the way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Patrick Snell there with a 2010 preview. Now, could a flower be the downfall of the mosquito? An American scientist explains how his invention could protect people from malaria, a major killer on the continent.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Welcome back to INSIDE AFRICA. The World Health Organization says malaria kills about a million people a year, mostly in Africa. Now, after 11 years of hard work, an American scientist has invented a small eco-friendly device that could help improve that grim statistic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THOMAS KOLLARS: So, here is one of the .
SESAY: There is an old African proverb that goes, if you think you're too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito. Thomas Kollars is the professor of environmental health sciences at Georgia Southern University. He knows all too well the impacts of mosquitoes in Africa.
KOLLARS: I saw children dying from malaria, and Denge fever. And one particular case, it was a five or six-year old boy, with his mother holding his hand. He was in a coma, and his sister just crying. It really touched me, and I figured, well, I have my own kids too, about the same age, and what can I do to help other people's -- other families' children?
SESAY: As many Africans know, malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes. The World Health Organization reported 247 million cases in 2006 resulting in a million deaths, most of them in Africa. The WHO estimates that a child dies from the disease every 30 seconds. Kollars, an epidemiologist, spent 11 years developing a weapon to fight malaria. The ProVector is the product of his label.
KOLLARS: ProVector is a flower-like device that uses a sweet nectar- like solution to attract mosquitoes, to feed on a formulation that kills them. An eco-friendly and cheap device for controlling mosquitoes.
SESAY: The flower-shaped device costs $7 to 10, and contains a safe bio-pesticide. Kollars says each one lasts about three months and kills up to 5,000 mosquitoes. He hopes his creation will bring relief to communities around the continent.
KOLLARS: In the middle of Nairobi, they have a slum area called Kibera. And there is over a million people packed into a very small area. They've got five to 13 people in a -- in a house that's 10 feet by 15 feet. And 25 percent of them have bednets, probably, at the most. And so, they need help. And malaria is killing more people in that slum area than HIV or any other disease.
SESAY: Emmanuel Clottey, a Ghanaian doctoral student who worked with Kollar, almost died from malaria when he was 10 years old.
EMMANUEL CLOTTEY, GHANAIAN DOCTORAL STUDENT: I'd gone out with my father. And then I became terribly ill, with very high fever. And so, my father had to rush me to the hospital. In a country like Ghana, everybody is at risk, including the president. So, it's not like you have some people at risk and some people not at risk. Everybody is at risk, because malaria is present everywhere in Ghana.
SESAY: Many charities focus on pesticide-treated bed nets to control the spread of the disease. Clottey says the nets are not enough.
CLOTTEY: If you want to really control malaria, then you need something in addition to their net, that everyone -- people are not under the net, that thing still protects them.
SESAY: Kollars recently delivered 3,000 ProVectors to various communities in Africa, where he's hoping the device will do more than save lives.
KOLLARS: The ProVector is a very simple injection plastic molding apparatus. So we want to do technology transfer to provide jobs to these people, too. So they have -- have an income.
SESAY: Initial results are encouraging. In the preliminary test, conducted by a Walter Reed Army Institute of Research laboratory, 100 percent of mosquitoes which fed on the ProVector bait died within 10 days. Kollars also has anecdotal evidence from a minister he works with in Nairobi.
KOLLARS: He wrote to me and said: "Tom! I can't believe it! I don't have any more mosquitoes in my house or -- well, that's how it's supposed to work. He goes -- but he complained, he says, you know, you got rid of them in three days. Can you kill them -- get them down in about a minute or two? It was like, I told him I'm not a magician, I'm only a scientist, but we'll do our best.
SESAY: Even so, killing mosquitoes with a flower is a pretty good trick.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: A small device that could make a big difference. Pesticide- treated bed nets are another useful weapon in the fight against malaria. And an American pop star is using his celebrity to get them to people who need them most. Grammy-Award winning singer Usher has joined the Nothing but Nets campaign, which saves lives by distributing nets in high-risk areas around Africa. Betty Nguyen recently sat down with Usher and asked him why he decided to get involved.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
USHER, MUSICIAN: Hearing about Nothing but Nets was something that I thought like would really make a difference and allow our kids to identify on a global scale with service. I had actually recently visited the White House, and met with the administration to talk about ways to be more effective globally. And malaria being an epidemic, that is killing, you know, a child every 30 minutes. You know, and this is something that there is no cure for. Malaria doesn't have a cure. But there is a solution, and Nothing but Nets has figured it out, and the U.N. foundation supports them 100 percent, in all of their efforts.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And a beauty of it is that solution is very simple.
USHER: Yes.
NGUYEN: If you can have that mosquito net to prevent malaria.
USHER: Well, one is just the understanding of that malaria. As I said, it doesn't have a cure, but there is a net. You know, simply by purchasing a net, you can make a difference, you know. If you want to get involved in it, you can go to my Web site, www.ushersnewlook.org, and buy a net, you know. You buy a net for $10, you save a life.
NGUYEN: It's a small investment, but a huge payoff.
USHER: It's a small -- a small investment, but a huge, you know, a huge net profit at the end.
NGUYEN: Yeah, no doubt. Now, you said you went to the White House to discuss the Nothing But Nets campaign. How was that received? Did you make any progress on that end?
USHER: We've been in discussions about many things, you know. This project, specifically, Nothing But Nets is one of the -- one of the many things that we spoke about. But ultimately, service is really what I wanted to offer. You know. I -- I happened to be there for a couple of times, but I-- this time I met with different cabinets of the administration to talk about ways to implement, you know, service. And it was well received. They were 100 percent on deck, onboard, and you should hear something very soon, this summer, ways that you can get involved.
The one thing that I would encourage everyone looking at this right now to do is to purchase a net for help -- to help saving a life in Africa. Right now, you can. $10 is all it takes, $10.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: It looks like bed nets and other potential solutions are becoming all the more critical in the fight against malaria.
Turning now to music. Bongo Flava is a uniquely African style of hip- hop. And it's enormously popular in East Africa. We'll hear about an up- and-coming Tanzanian artist called AY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Welcome back to INSIDE AFRICA. Earlier this year, we told you about a Tanzanian recording artist Nakaaya who's just been signed to a record deal by Sony. Her music can be described as Bongo Flava, a uniquely East African form of hip-hop.
While shooting that story, my producer met a radio DJ named Steve Tenga. He was at a popular Dar Es Salaam radio station, and he promised to keep us updated by webcam on the East African music scene. Well, he recently told us to be on the look out for AY, a Bongo Flava artist who hopes to follow in Nakaaya's footsteps.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE TENGA, TANZANIAN RADIO DJ: He's been in the music scene for about eight years now, and ever since he started his career, he's been actually been doing very well. He started with a group that was named East Coast Team, then later, after two years, he went solo. That was back in 2005 -- 2005. That's when he went solo. And from their on, he started (inaudible), and then -- and ever since, he's been doing well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Could you tell me about the new song?
TENGA: "Laey (ph)". It's a Swahili expression (ph) for today. But the story behind this song is actually -- he serves (ph) drinks in a certain restaurant, and suddenly he comes across this beautiful woman and starts visualizing her, you know, daydreaming, what he'll be doing if he was with the woman. So, yeah, the story ends where the guy just wakes up, you know. He wakes from just like (inaudible) he was just daydreaming.
SESAY: And what about the big music labels? Are they showing any interest in any of these Bongo Flava artists?
TENGA: Yes, very much, because speaking of that, back in 2006 Akon came down to Tanzania for one of his concerts, and he actually met with AY, had a talk (ph) with him. He performed (inaudible) with him, and he actually made comments that AY may be -- AY is the next great (ph) artist from Africa to make it to the international music (inaudible).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: DJ Steve Tenga there via webcam from Dar Es Salaam.
Now to Namibia, where more than 200 people from around the world recently ran the equivalent of five consecutive marathons across the desert. While enduring 48-degree heat, they had to ration their water and carry all the food they needed for the week. The experience even included such amenities as no showers, no toilets and no beds. I wouldn't want to be in a tent with that lot, that's for sure. For this privilege, they each paid $3,100 during the race.
We emailed the few competitors some questions starting with, why?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is home. You've got to do it. I thought the first one would be easy, because a friend of mine entered and challenged me to join in in the race, and into the second one, just to -- to run (ph) in (ph) Namibia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible) challenge to -- to get out and just be out in nature and also kind of test your kind of mental capabilities, push yourself to see how far you can get.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: The event was staged by Racing the Planet, an organization that has been hosting similar races since the mid 1990s.
And there we must leave it. Be sure to tune into INSIDE AFRICA next week, when we'll bring you special coverage of the World Economic Forum in Cape Town. Thank you for watching.
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