Zimbabwe Online News

The evolving COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global public health crisis that continues to have a major impact on the African continent. Most countries within Africa are facing significant challenges vaccinating their populations for COVID-19. Inadequate COVID-19 vaccine supply, weaknesses in health system infrastructure, COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation, and ineffective health risk communication are contributing to low adult vaccination rates on the continent. Without sufficient COVID-19 vaccine coverage on the African continent, the prolonged social, economic and health impacts of this public health crisis are likely to exacerbate pre-existing social-structural issues in this part of the world. In this paper, we highlight trends in SARS-CoV-2 infections among children and adolescents (CA), compare COVID-19 vaccination patterns in Africa to those in high-income countries, and discuss some of the benefits, challenges and unknowns associated with vaccinating CA for COVID-19. In light of ongoing COVID-19 vaccine supply challenges and the slow progress that the African continent is making towards vaccinating the adult population, we suggest that the immediate priority for Africa is to accelerate COVID-19 vaccinations among adults (particularly high-risk populations) and vulnerable CA (ie, those who are immunocompromised and/or living with certain medical conditions). Accelerating the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines and rapidly achieving high levels of vaccination coverage in the adult population will free up capacity to vaccinate CA sooner rather than later. While we hope that COVID-19 vaccines will soon become available to CA throughout Africa, countries must continue to prioritise non-pharmaceutical interventions.

Source: British Medical Journal

As few as three major criminal groups are responsible for smuggling the vast majority of elephant ivory tusks out of Africa, according to a new study.

Researchers used analysis of DNA from seized elephant tusks and evidence such as phone records, license plates, financial records and shipping documents to map trafficking operations across the continent and better understand who was behind the crimes. The study was published Monday in the journal Nature Human Behavior.

"When you have the genetic analysis and other data, you can finally begin to understand the illicit supply chain — that's absolutely key to countering these networks," said Louise Shelley, who researches illegal trade at George Mason University and was not involved in the research.

Conservation biologist Samuel Wasser, a study co-author, hopes the findings will help law enforcement officials target the leaders of these networks instead of low-level poachers who are easily replaced by criminal organizations.

"If you can stop the trade where the ivory is being consolidated and exported out of the country, those are really the key players," said Wasser, who co-directs the Center for Environmental Forensic Science at the University of Washington.

Africa's elephant population is fast dwindling. From around 5 million elephants a century ago to 1.3 million in 1979, the total number of elephants in Africa is now estimated to be around 415,000.

A 1989 ban on international commercial ivory trade hasn't stopped the decline. Each year, an estimated 1.1 million pounds (500 metric tons) of poached elephant tusks are shipped from Africa, mostly to Asia.

For the past two decades, Wasser has fixated on a few key questions: "Where is most of the ivory being poached, who is moving it, and how many people are they?"

He works with wildlife authorities in Kenya, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and elsewhere, who contact him after they intercept ivory shipments. He flies to the countries to take small samples of tusks to analyze the DNA. He has now amassed samples from the tusks of more than 4,300 elephants trafficked out of Africa between 1995 and today.

"That's an amazing, remarkable data set," said Princeton University biologist Robert Pringle, who was not involved in the study. With such data, "it becomes possible to spot connections and make strong inferences," he said.

In 2004, Wasser demonstrated that DNA from elephant tusks and dung could be used to pinpoint their home location to within a few hundred miles. In 2018, he recognized that finding identical DNA in tusks from two different ivory seizures meant they were harvested from the same animal – and likely trafficked by the same poaching network.

The new research expands that approach to identify DNA belonging to elephant parents and offspring, as well as siblings — and led to the discovery that only a very few criminal groups are behind most of the ivory trafficking in Africa.

Because female elephants remain in the same family group their whole life, and most males don't travel too far from their family herd, the researchers hypothesize that tusks from close family members are likely to have been poached at the same time, or by the same operators.

Such genetic links can provide a blueprint for wildlife authorities seeking other evidence — cell phone records, license plates, shipping documents and financial statements — to link different ivory shipments.

Previously when an ivory shipment was intercepted, the one seizure wouldn't allow authorities to identify the organization behind the crime, said Special Agent John Brown III of the Office of Homeland Security Investigations, who has worked on environmental crimes for 25 years.

But the scientists' work identifying DNA links can "alert us to the connections between individual seizures," said Brown, who is also a co-author. "This collaborative effort has definitely been the backbone of multiple multinational investigations that are still ongoing," he said.

They identified several poaching hotspots, including regions of Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana, Gabon and Republic of Congo. Tusks are often moved to warehouses in another location to be combined with other contraband in shipping containers, then moved to ports. Current trafficking hubs exist in Kampala, Uganda; Mombasa, Kenya; and Lome, Togo.

Two suspects were recently arrested as a result of one such investigation, said Wasser.

Traffickers that smuggle ivory also often move other contraband, the researchers found. A quarter of large seizures of pangolin scales – a heavily-poached anteater-like animal – are co-mingled with ivory, for instance.

"Confronting these networks is a great example of how genetics can be used for conservation purposes," said Brian Arnold, a Princeton University evolutionary biologist who was not involved in the research.

Source: Voice of America

Thank you, Secretary Blinken.

We’re grateful for the leadership of the United States and all countries here today.

I’ve just returned from South Africa yesterday, where I met with President Ramaphosa and saw first-hand the progress underway at the WHO mRNA vaccine technology transfer Hub. The commitment from the government and the private sector is real.

This historic initiative comes at a critical time.

In some countries, high vaccine coverage, combined with the lower severity of Omicron, is driving a false narrative that the pandemic is over.

At the same time, low vaccine coverage and low testing rates in other countries are creating the ideal conditions for new variants to emerge.

We can bring the pandemic under control this year – but we are at increased risk of squandering that opportunity.

Currently, 116 countries are off track for our shared target of vaccinating 70% of the population of every country by the middle of this year.

Through the ACT Accelerator and the COVAX pillar and our partnership with UNICEF, we are now overcoming some of the supply and delivery constraints we faced last year, with more than 1 billion vaccine doses shipped.

In many countries, the issues are not primarily a problem of absorptive capacity. We need to urgently support political leaders to accelerate the rollout of vaccines.

We welcome the ongoing engagement of all countries represented here today, the lines of effort proposed by the United States, and continued alignment with the ACT Accelerator and the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT).

Let me leave you with three requests.

First, to vaccinate the world, we ask all countries to support WHO’s global target of 70%.

Second, to save lives now, we ask all countries to contribute their fair share to fully fund the ACT Accelerator, especially for the immediate need of US$ 16 billion.

Third, we need to support models such as the mRNA technology transfer hub in South Africa and its network of spokes around the world, to build capacity for controlling COVID-19 and other preventable diseases.

As I mentioned, I have just witnessed the collaborative work being done at the Hub and by the vaccine developers participating in this historic effort, including Afrigen, Biovac, and the Biomedical Research Institute at Stellenbosch University.

Fostering local vaccine manufacturing capacity throughout the globe, supplemented by temporary intellectual property waivers for COVID-19 tools, will help bring this pandemic to an end and keep us all safer.

By working together, across the public and private sectors, we can bring the pandemic under control and drive an inclusive and sustainable recovery.

I focused on the three recommendations, and I fully agree with Secretary Blinken’s six recommendations.

I thank you.

Source: World Health Organization

Eritrea's Shannon Ogbnai-Abeda placed 39th in the men’s giant slalom, the only African who managed to complete his run in the event.

A double blast of heavy snow and temperatures dropping to minus 22 degrees Celsius made the downhill race treacherous on Sunday, and only 46 of 87 skiers were able to finish the course.

Abeda clocked runs of one minute, 17.95 seconds and one minute, 22.50 seconds, totaling 2 minutes, 40.45 seconds.

Skiers from Ghana, Morocco and Madagascar were among those who did not complete the race.

The only African female skier in the women's giant slalom, Madagascar's Mialitiana Clerc, placed 41st out of the 49 skiers who finished the race.

In the men’s cross-country sprint, Nigeria’s Samuel Ikpefan came in 73rd out of 88 contestants.

Meanwhile, Jamaica made history at the Olympics fielding by its first Alpine skier.

Benjamin Alexander, a former DJ who took to the sport at age 32 six years ago, came in last out of the 46 skiers that completed the men's giant slalom.

The 38-year-old said he was hopeful that his participation in the Olympics would be an inspiration to others. In December last year, Alexander told Time.com that ''my gold medal is walking in the opening ceremonies.”

Source: Voice of America

America's elite colleges are facing growing calls to end the decades-old tradition of giving an admissions boost to the children of alumni — a practice that critics say is rooted in racism and bestows an unfair advantage to students who need it least.

Fueled by the national reckoning with racial injustice, opponents say they are gaining momentum in the battle over the contentious policy of legacy preferences.

Ivy League students are pressing administrators to abandon the policy. Yale's student government took a stance against the practice in November. A recent vote of Harvard students found that 60% oppose it. Hundreds of students and alumni across 30 colleges have promised to withhold financial donations over the issue.

Civil rights groups are increasingly adding their support, including the American Civil Liberties Union, which is tackling legacy preferences as part of a campaign against systematic racism.

And a bill in Congress aims to eliminate the practice.

The proposal from Democrats would outlaw preferences for children of alumni or donors at colleges that receive federal money. It's being pushed by the party's progressive wing but has gained support from some conservative activists who want college admissions to be based on merit alone.

Legacy preferences give an extra boost to predominantly white and wealthy legacy students, while "leaving out millions of Black and brown kids," said Representative Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat from New York, a sponsor.

"There has been a shift in the consciousness of the country around issues of inequity and inequality," Bowman said in an interview. "There's a real yearning to right the wrongs of our past."

In the heavily guarded world of college admissions, it's hard to know exactly how many legacy students get a nudge. But at some of the most selective colleges, students with family ties make up 10% to 20% of the latest incoming class, according to data released by colleges in response to an Associated Press request.

On many campuses, the opposition is being led by students of color and those who are the first in their families to attend college. They say legacy status is one more advantage for students who are already more likely to have access to tutoring, test prep and other help applying to college.

Zoe Fuad, a junior at Brown University, said it reinforces a "cycle of inequity" that was designed to serve wealthy white men.

"By perpetually giving advantages to their descendants, we're ensuring that those who were systemically favored continue to be favored," said Fuad, 20, who leads a student group that's challenging the practice at Brown.

Many prestigious colleges defend legacy admissions, saying it helps build an alumni community and encourages donations. Officials at Harvard and other schools argue that legacy status is just one of many factors considered in admissions, along with grades, test scores and pursuits outside school. At most, they say, it can provide a slight tip in a student's favor.

Still, two colleges have ended the practice recently, giving opponents hope that others will follow.

Amherst College in Massachusetts dropped the policy in October, saying it "inadvertently limits educational opportunity." Johns Hopkins University announced in 2020 that it had phased out legacy preferences. Since then, the school has drawn growing numbers of Black and Hispanic students, along with those from low-income families.

The pushback against legacy preferences is advancing amid a broader debate over fairness in college admissions.

Last month the Supreme Court agreed to review whether colleges can consider applicants' race as a way to expand diversity. The court will take up lawsuits alleging that Harvard University and the University of North Carolina discriminate against Asian American applicants in favor of Black and Hispanic students.

In a rare moment of bipartisan unity, the conservative strategist behind those suits voiced support for the Democrats' bill against legacy benefits. In a statement, Edward Blum said too many colleges "lower the admissions bar for the children of their alumni."

Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, a sponsor of the bill, said it aims to level the playing field for minority students and those from working-class families.

"More and more of the good-paying jobs in America require a college education," he said. "It's important that ordinary students from regular backgrounds have a fair chance to go to these institutions."

Most schools are not required to disclose how many legacy students they enroll and many keep it private. Among the nation's 30 most selective colleges, only eight provided basic data on the subject in response to an AP request.

At those colleges, the share of legacy students in this year's freshman class averaged 12%. The lowest share was at Rice University in Houston, where 4% of this year's first-year class had legacy status. The University of Notre Dame said legacy students have averaged 23% of the student body over the past decade.

Legacy students outnumbered Black students in freshman classes at four schools: Notre Dame, Cornell, Dartmouth and the University of Southern California. At Brown, the share of legacy and Black students was about even.

Harvard refused to disclose details, but data made public during its trial over affirmative action showed that family ties carry outsize weight. From 2014 to 2019, the acceptance rate for legacy applicants was 34%, compared with 6% for applicants without legacy status, according to an analysis by the suit's plaintiffs.

Critics of the practice say it contributes to persistently low numbers of Black students at top colleges. During the racial reckoning following the killing of George Floyd by police, hundreds of students at Georgetown University signed a letter calling for an end to legacy preference, saying it "relegates qualified Black students to second-tier status."

Historians have traced legacy preference to the 1920s as elite colleges sought to limit the number of Jewish students. It continued for decades at a time when the majority of college students in the U.S. were white men.

At many schools with legacy preferences, Black students were not admitted until the 1960s, said Michael Dannenberg, a vice president at the Education Reform Now think tank.

"White applicants have between eight and 16 generations of ancestors on which to establish an alumni connection," said Dannenberg, who has opposed the practice since he was an aide to Sen. Ted Kennedy, the late Massachusetts Democrat, two decades ago. "For the vast majority of Black and Latino applicants, there's maybe one or two generations."

On college campuses, student activists say they continue to face resistance from school leaders who defend the policy. But at a time of rising populism in the United States, colleges are unlikely to find allies in Congress and other halls of power, said Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, a progressive think tank in Washington.

Especially in the wake of the Varsity Blues admissions scandal, he said, it's becoming more difficult for colleges to defend policies that benefit the wealthy.

"They are clearly vulnerable on this issue," he said.

In the wake of that scandal, Colorado became the first state in the nation to outlaw legacy preferences at public colleges. California lawmakers required colleges to disclose how many legacy students get accepted.

Among campus activists, there's a driving desire to change the perception that top colleges are ivory towers reserved for the wealthy. When Viet Andy Nguyen applied to Brown University as a low-income, first-generation student, he knew he was competing against wealthier students with alumni connections. It made him question whether Brown was really a place for people like him.

After graduating from Brown in 2017, he launched the nonprofit EdMobilizer with the goal of expanding access to college and ending legacy preferences. He has orchestrated a donation boycott at schools across the U.S., and he's helping students fight the practice on scores of campuses.

It isn't lost on him that he's challenging a policy that could benefit his future children. He has faced resistance from some students of color who wonder why he wants to end it now, when campuses are more racially diverse than ever. But to him, the goal is to open doors for students who have been excluded, not to create "an elite lineage of people of color."

"My kids will be fine," he said. "They don't need an additional bump just for being my offspring."

Source: Voice of America