The survey polled more than 50,000 people in 64 countries people between June and September 2004.

The rate of bribery was, not surprisingly, much higher in developing countries. For example, in Cameroon more than 50 percent of respondents said they or a member of their household had paid a bribe.

In Nigeria, Kenya, Lithuania and Moldova, 1 in 3 respondents said they or a household member had paid a bribe.

There was some good news, such as surprisingly low levels of bribe paying in South Africa, as well as a surprising level of corruption in Greece where 11 percent of those polled admitted they or a household member had paid a bribe.

Transparency International board member Akere Muna, who heads up the organization’s Cameroon branch, said in a press release,

It is time to use international co-operation to enforce a policy of zero tolerance of political corruption, and to put an end to practices whereby politicians put themselves above the law — stealing from ordinary citizens and hiding behind parliamentary immunity.

Political parties and politicians they nominate for election are entrusted with great power and great hopes by the people who vote for them. Political leaders must not abuse that trust by serving corrupt or selfish interests once they are in power.

According to the BBC, the World Bank estimates that as more than $1 trillion is paid out annually worldwide in bribes.

Source:

One in 10 families ‘pays bribes’. The BBC, December 9, 2004.

Political parties are most corrupt institution worldwide according to TI Global Corruption Barometer 2004. Press Release, Transparency International, December 9, 2004.

Transparency International: 1 in 10 Families Worldwide Pays Bribes is a post from: Overpopulation.Com

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The ban on vaccinations saw a marked increase in polio cases in Nigeria which quickly spread to neighboring countries, including several that had previously been declared polio-free by the World Health Organization.

Nigeria has reported 430 cases of polio since the beginning of the year, accounting for almost 90 percent of cases worldwide. Ten other sub-Saharan countries have also reported cases of polio this year, compared to just two last year.

Source:

Nigerian state revokes ban on polio vaccine. Associated Press, July 20, 2004.

Islamic Nigerian state ends ban on polio vaccinations. Associated Press, August 1, 2004.

Nigeria to Resume Polio Vaccination is a post from: Overpopulation.Com

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Kano officials suspended polio vaccination efforts in 2003 over concerns that the vaccine was a plot against Nigerian Muslims.

Now, 20-30 suspected cases of polio have been reported in the town of Rogo. Meanwhile polio cases also appear to be spreading out from Nigeria into surrounding African nations — a total of 10 African countries that had been certified polio-free have reported at least 1 case of polio in the last 12 months.

All of the latest and best medicine available is still of little avail when met with irrationality and unreason.

Source:

WHO investigates suspected polio outbreak in Kano. United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks, July 6, 2004.

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Polio cases were discovered in both Benin and Cameroon in early January, apparently having spread from Nigeria. Nigeria still experiences about 300 cases of polio annually and Muslim leaders in northern Nigeria have led a local fight against the polio vaccine saying it contains hormones that are used to sterilize girls.

Sources:

West Africa Polio Cases a Setback for WHO’s Eradication Plan. UN Wire, January 12, 2004.

UN says polio is spreading to countries where it had been eradicated. Press Release, United Nations, January 9, 2004.

WHO Reports Polio Setback is a post from: Overpopulation.Com

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The largely-Muslim northern states of Kaduna, Kano and Zamfra ordered a stop to a WHO-sponsored vaccination program. Reuters quoted Dr. Datti Ahmed, president of Nigeria’s Supreme Council for Sharia Law, as saying,

A lot of documents have come into our possession indicating there are grave doubts and concerns about the safety of the oral polio vaccine being used in Nigeria. We therefore called on the authorities to suspend the immunization program and investigate these fears.

WHO representatives dismissed such objections saying the polio vaccine was safe.

Unfortunately, Nigeria is one of only 7 countries where the disease is still prevalent and many children there are not vaccinated. Authorities worry that the disease could expand from Nigeria into surrounding countries. According to WHO representative Dr. David Heymann,

In some parts of Nigeria, only 13 percent of children have been vaccinated, largely because of the fears about it that have been disseminated. Nigeria is now exporting the disease. It has already cost Nigeria’s five neighbors $13 million to launch their own campaigns against it and that could go up to $20 million if it is confirmed that Chad has cases.

The government set up a group to test the polio virus, but that group dealt another setback to the polio eradication in January when it issued results claiming it found high levels of estrogen in the polio vaccine which would render those who received the vaccine infertile.

Both the WHO and the Nigerian state dismissed these claims, but WHO’s efforts to vaccinate children in Nigeria appears to have been severely set back which bodes ill both for the children there who are unnecessarily exposed to the risk of contracting polio as well as neighboring states and the rest of the world that would like to see polio eradicated.

Source:

Health experts losing battle to promote polio vaccine in Nigeria. AFP, Friday January 9, 2004.

Nigeria orders polio vaccine tests. Associated Press, October 29, 2003.

Nigeria debates polio campaign. Anna Borzello, The BBC, December 22, 2003.

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This year the Nigerian government began to address the fuel shortages by moving slowly to eliminating one of the factors responsible for it — subsidies on gasoline that make it profitable to buy gasoline and sell it to neighboring countries or on the black market rather than actually use it for fuel.

After winning re-election, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo raised the price of gasoline by 50 percent. According to the BBC, this immediately brought on a general strike and Obasanjo had to back of the price increase a bit, but in the end the price of gasoline still was up 30 percent.

According to the BBC, the gasoline subsidy cost the Nigerian government about $2 billion a year, so every change helps the government’s budget as well as restoring some much-needed sanity to gasoline prices in Nigeria.

Source:

Nigeria tackles fuel subsidies. Mark Ashurst, BBC, July 18, 2003.

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In 2001 there were only 483 confirmed cases of polio which shot up to 1,920 confirmed cases in polio after an outbreak in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. That was the single worst outbreak of the disease since the World Health Organization began its campaign to eradicate polio in 1988. Cases from the Indian outbreak constituted 71 percent of all polio cases in 2002.

Afghanistan, Egypt, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Somalia also reported cases of polio in 2002.

Source:

Polio cases on the increase. The BBC, April 25, 2003.

Polio Cases Increase Thanks Largely to Indian Outbreak is a post from: Overpopulation.Com

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