Go figure....

I haven’t written for a while. Since my last post I have finished my masters, and started a job. Is that excuse enough for a bit of silence?

So this is just a quick one. I read an article in a Malawian newspaper on Friday. I don’t have it with me but it went along the lines of… USAID has stopped providing US donated contraceptives to Banja la Mtsogolo, a Malawian family planning and reproductive health NGO (along with organisations in 5 other sub-Saharan African countries). This is apparently because BLM (and the other organisations) receive funding and technical support from Marie Stopes International, a British not-for-profit sexual and reproductive health organisation.

The reason that they have banned the contraceptives coming to these countries is that the Bush administration claims that a UN program in China (in which Marie Stopes is involved) is promoting coerced abortion and sterilisation.

So, in order to address their concerns over a program run by the UNITED NATIONS in CHINA, the US government is barring contraceptives to some of the poorest countries in the world, that are badly affected by HIV/AIDS.

Now I must admit that I only have one side of this story. I am going to speak to a friend who works at USAID here in Lilongwe to try and get more information.

But for now, all I can think is:

IT’S NOT JUST THE US THAT NEEDS YOU OBAMA – THE REST OF US DO TOO!!!