Maravi

(HERALD) West blind to Zim’s successes

West blind to Zim’s successes
By Obi Egbuna in WASHINGTON D.C

ON JULY 13 2007, a correspondent for the Washington Post’s foreign service, Craig Timberg, wrote an article titled "In Zimbabwe fewer affairs and less HIV". Because of the anti-Mugabe slant of his work, Timberg received front-page coverage, a distinction very few journalists can say they have accomplished in their careers as reporters.

This article validated the assertion and sentiments pro-Mugabe supporters worldwide maintain, that the propaganda war being waged by the West in an attempt to discredit and isolate Zimbabwe knows no bounds or parameters.

Timberg highlighted a discussion he had with a mathematics teacher by the name of Thomas Muza whom he said recounted his struggle in trying to support his wife and mistress on a teacher’s salary.

While Timberg apparently couldn’t resist the temptation of magnifying what he considered decadent behaviour, his motivation for incorporating this in the story should never be mistaken for journalistic integrity or commitment to Western family values.

If Timberg chose to, he could have discussed how Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health and Child Welfare prioritises HIV and Aids prevention with priority on behavioural change.

This is extremely significant because most African countries focus on treatment and care due to limited resources.

Timberg also conveniently omitted Zimbabwe’s National Aids Levy, the only one of its kind the world over, that benefits child-headed households, support groups for people living with HIV and Aids, and patients on home-based care.

Because the Washington Post foreign service office that covers the Sadc region is based in South Africa, and Washington’s political muscle has failed to convince countries in the region that it would be "advantageous" to betray Zimbabwe, articles aimed at downplaying President Mugabe and Zanu-PF’s significant achievements should never surprise Africans at home or abroad.

Timberg claimed "Zimbabwe’s experience shows that the connection between Aids and economics is not nearly so straightforward".

A sweeping indictment of this nature gave him the luxury of not informing the millions of people who read his article, that when Zimbabwe’s applications to the Global Aids Fund for rounds 2, 3, 4,and 6 were denied, the decision was made by former United States health secretary Tommy Thompson and his British counterpart Richard Feacham, who were the Fund’s chair and executive directors.

Both men were living up to the mandates from their respective governments instead of the mandate of the Fund, which aims to assist all people in need of resources.

Timberg went on to talk about how the 18,1 percent HIV prevalence in Zimbabwe is higher than all but five countries in the world, instead of informing his readers that the 15 percent decline in HIV/Aids cases in Zimbabwe is one of only three success stories in Africa, and the most rapid.

Timberg also ignored the fact that Zimbabwe’s blood transfusion programme became a training centre in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, that resulted from the initiative taken by President Mugabe’s Government when the first HIV/Aids case was identified 22 years ago.

In addition to failing to highlight the genocidal implications of using humanitarian aid as a political weapon against Zimbabwe, Timberg failed to inform his readers that Zimbabwe’s land reform programme was the motivating factor for the Western policy of using HIV and Aids funds as a weapon against President Mugabe.

The fact that the development agencies representing Canada, Sweden and Denmark, who were on the ground in Zimbabwe doing HIV/Aids support projects, all informed the Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr David Parirenyatwa, that they were instructed by their respective governments to leave Zimbabwe, speaks volumes about the Western world’s "compassion" for Africa.

If Timberg spoke to Dr Parirenyatwa, he would have learnt that the World Food Programme’s commitment to assist Zimbabwe is because of the progress being made by his ministry and the National Aids Council — another example of how self-determination stemming from the Third Chimurenga goes beyond the political realm in Zimbabwe.

While George W. Bush’s emergency plan for Aids relief excluded Zimbabwe, the William J. Clinton Foundation sponsors 10 000 HIV and Aids orphans after initially refusing to provide assistance until it discovered Zimbabwe’s commitment to the eradication of HIV/Aids.

The timing of Timberg’s article was not coincidental.

During the Congressional Black Caucus’ Health Brain Trust meetings in September 2006 and May 2007, many of the health advocacy organisations in attendance discussed how they had ignored the increase of HIV and Aids in our communities in the US because of too much focus on Africa.

This explains why Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California, who chairs CBC’s Brain Trust on HIV and Aids, or CBC health liaison Donna Christensen of the Virgin Islands, have refused to address this issue, even though they both received a resolution spearheaded by 15 grassroots organisations concerning this matter. Which resolution was submitted to the UN, Sadc, the African Union, and WHO on April 19 this year.

We know that sometimes journalists, depending on how they were trained, believe that current events take precedence over historical developments.

Poor Timberg appears to be a victim of this shabby orientation.

We remember the Elian Gonzalez situation in Cuba seven years ago when Commandant Fidel Castro boldly proclaimed that US citizens learnt more about Cuba in four months than they had in 41 years because of the child’s abduction.

As long as President Mugabe continues to lead the fight against HIV and Aids and imperialism, he will neutralise US and British imperialism’s political fantasy of trying to effect illegal regime change in Zimbabwe.

Obi Egbuna is an African-American, and member of the US-based Pan African Liberation Organisation, and Zimbabwe Cuban Friendship Association.

Labels: WASHINGTON POST, ZIMBABWE

posted by MrK @ 6:53 AM