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SOETZIM N O V E M B E R
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Impact of Covid 19 on gender equity Page 3
Cancer awareness day Page 8
Together for our planet Pa g e 1
NOVEMBER 2021
SOETZIM
ZIMBABWE AND COP26 COP26 is the 2021 United Nations climate change conference. For nearly three decades the UN has been bringing together almost every country on earth for global climate summits – called COPs – which stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’. Zimbabwe was one of the countries that attended the meeting and His excellency President ED Mnangagwa presented a speech. Inside: Full presidents speech at COP26
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In my country, we feel the impact of climate change more than most. Our temperatures have risen by approximately 2 degrees Celsius over the past century, which has seen a significant increase in extreme weather. In the past two decades alone, we have had to deal with 10 droughts. If world leaders do not step up climate action, developing nations at the forefront of the fight against climate change will see jobs lost, livelihoods destroyed, and lives devastated. That is something we must avoid and that is why Zimbabwe is coming to the table with ambitious plans to tackle climate change and save our planet. My government has now committed to reducing emissions by 40 percent before 2030. This builds on a previous commitment for a 33-percent emissions reduction set in 2017. The new target will see greenhouse gas emissions curbed to 44.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e) by 2030, a reduction of about 30 million tonnes. One of our routes to achieve that is through significant expansion of renewable energy with the aim of having 26.5 percent of all energy from renewable sources by 2030. This includes investment in hydro energy, solar energy and biomass. We have also reaffirmed our comwe have been blessed with. We one provides a safe environment African bush elephant, the critically giraffe, African leopard, lion, plains year, mining was banned in all ernment entered a partnership Parks, signing a 20-year agreement Matusadona National Park.
mitment to conserve the diverse wildlife have 11 protected national parks, each for our wildlife, including African buffalo, endangered black rhinoceros, southern zebra, and several antelope species. Last those national parks. Moreover, my govwith conservation non-profit African in November 2020 for the management of
However, with all that ambition, we still need to cope with the shocks of drought and the impact of climate Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa, centre, change through necessary social safety poses with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, nets. That is why I have been appealing for multilateral support to suppleright, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he ment our efforts. Developed nations need to widen access to climate fiarrives for the COP26 on November 1 [Reuters/ Christopher Furlong] An image of the logo for UN Climate the longstanding pledge to contribute nance as soon as possible. Sadly, Change Conference (COP26) at the SEC – Glasgow 2021 $100bn annually to help developing countries deal with the effects of climate change has been elusive. The wealthiest countries must set an example and speed up this financing. All it demands is political will. Another step the leading economies should take to support us, and others, is to end the political and illegal use of sanctions. In late October, UN Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan called for the removal of sanctions on Zimbabwe by the EU and the US after finishing a fact-finding mission. She echoed the arguments I have articulated since taking office, that sanctions and various over-compliance with sanctions have had “an insidious ripple effect on the economy of Zimbabwe and on the enjoyment of fundamental human rights, including access to health, food, safe drinking water and sanitation.” If the sanctions are removed, we would have a fighting chance at fulfilling our plans to become a middle-income country by the end of this decade, helping thousands out of poverty, stimulating innovation and once again allowing Zimbabwe to play a leading role on the African continent. I believe we have demonstrated our willingness and desire to play a responsible role in the international community. We have made great progress over the last three years and addressed many of the reforms asked of us, including providing compensation to landowners who had their properties expropriated in the 2000s, and tackling corruption. We are applying to re-join the Commonwealth of nations and I hope my presence at COP26 is yet another sign of Zimbabwe’s reengagement efforts.
ADAPTING CITIES FOR CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE Usually we talk of pollution and the way our forestry areas that are close to cities are being destroyed in search of energy. Today l want to talk about how we can adapt our cities for climate resilience starting at household level. Information is power and the best way of conveying it is through our actions. Let us adapt new methods of ensuring that as we expand without compromising our environment. First the inclusion of bonsai forests in our daily diet. Instead of focusing on huge forests that our cities cannot accommodate, let's add bonsai. They are good in that since they require grooming we end up taking time and learning more of our indigenous trees, even their history and the current situation. Exotic trees have been proven to be beautiful but most of them have shown high levels of competitiveness against our indigenous trees so l highly recommend going indigenous. There is a genetic imprint in plants that enables them to survive climatic conditions and adapt better without eliminating other species. Trees to consider for these bonsai forests are 1 ficus species 4 acacia
2.celtis Africana
3.erythrinas
5 the baobab which makes the best bonsai
Even in small spaces one can have their mini forest without worrying about space as they do not take up much space. But can be propagated in pots. .We have for some time enjoyed the way gum trees grow and provide us with forestry resources and have forgotten to look at the long term effects of them for example their ability to dry up water bodies near their area of propagation in a period of 10 years. The trees planted along roads and in parks are good but not enough. So we do what we can even with the small spaces that we have. Where there is no space we can use other methods like staking as l like to call it. It works not only in gardening but also in conservation issues. Flowers are a good addition to our collection. They encourage insect population which at the moment are depleting. Boosting their populations creates a healthy ecosystem and since they can travel far their multiplication can also increase even in our vulnerable areas. Knowledge is power Let us equip ourselves with the history of our local areas so that we are able to correct the wrongs that have been done to our environment. Wetlands have been in existence since time in memorial and it is always a temptation to plant either near or in these areas especially in cities where we do not have plots. It is not recommended because these purifiers will lose their functionality and then these climate issues will not get better but worse. Not only that but also the issue of water now not being purified meaning the water now needs to be manually purified with chemicals and other processes which is not healthy for the natural environment especially the fish. The animals will suffer and the food web will be altered which will become a challenge for us who are higher up in the food web. So at the end of it all, we benefit from this whole process more than we can ever anticipate.
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The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 also poses a challenge in achieving gender equality. Gender-based violence has increased exponentially due to restricted movement and economic strain. The lockdown has increased the cases of women and girls violence with over 30% domestic violence increase. Women and young girls were trapped in their households with their abusers due to lockdown. Most of them were not only physically abused but also emotionally, sexually and financially and nothing much could be done because were told to stay indoors. Unpaid care and domestic work includes cooking and cleaning, fetching water and firewood or taking care of children and the elderly. They would carry out at least two and a half times more unpaid household and care work than men. As a result, women have less time to engage in paid labor, work longer hours, combining paid and unpaid labor. Hence the goal of achieving gender equity would not be a walk in the park. Women's unpaid work subsidizes the cost of care that sustains families, supports economies and often fills in for the lack of social services. Yet, it is rarely recognized as "work". Taking cue from patriarchal societies there should be put in place to promote equal distribution of paid and unpaid work in households to reduce these gender gap. Due to the pandemic many businesses closed down and many households were financially drained. And some of those households resorted in marrying off their children to rich people and 40% of them are being sexually abused. Not only that girls are able to live their live full potential lives without any harm due to female genital mutation. Hence such risk should be reduced to allows girls pursue their education, own their bodily autonomy and eventually become productive members of the social, economic and political processes .Educating women has a direct proportional relation with the development of the community. All of these impacts are made worse in contexts where countries have fragile and non-cohesive structures that are able to protect women and girls. The lack of strong institutional and systemic social cohesion continues to undermine the capacity and services need-
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Cancer awareness day Cancer is a disease in which abnormal cells divide without control and can invade surrounding tissues,(WHO,2020).It is the second leading cause of death (after heart disease) in the United States and around the world. In 2018 an estimated 9.5 million people died of cancer worldwide and this is why cancer is a critical health issue. World cancer day is observed globally on the 4th of February, the aim being to inform and encourage people on its early detection, prevention as well as its treatment. The day is an initiative which was taken by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) to campaign and advocate for the targets of World Cancer Declaration. UICC was established in 1993 and is working towards medical research and eradication of cancer around the world. There are several types of cancer which include breast cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer, kidney cancer, uterine cancer, colorectal cancer, lymphomas etc. Breast cancer can occur in both men and women but mainly in women. It occurs when some breasts cells begin to grow abnormally and these cells divide further than healthy cells do and continue to accumulate forming lumps. Most often begins with cells in the milk producing ducts (Invasive ductal carcinoma). Breast cancer is caused by complex interaction of one's genetic makeup and the environment. More so if a close relative has had breast cancer, a person's chance of developing breast cancer increases. Symptoms of breast cancer include new lump in breast, thickening and swelling of part of the breast, nipple discharge including blood pain around the breast and change in size or shape of breasts. Concerning treatment of breast cancer, women diagnosed with cancer undergo surgery and may receive additional treatment such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment. Chemotherapy involves the use of drugs to destroy fast cells such as cancer cells. It may be recommended to try to control the cancer and decrease the symptoms being caused. However it is important for all of us to take cognizance of the fact that chemotherapy has some side effects which include hair loss, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue among others. Apart from chemotherapy, radiotherapy is also used to for treating people and it uses controlled doses of radiation to destroy cancer cells. Its side effects are extreme tiredness, irritation and darkening of the skin on breasts which may lead to sore, red skin and excess fluid buildup in arms. Hormone therapy is also a way of treating breast cancer. Some breast cancer is stimulated to grow by the hormones estrogen or progesterone. Hormone therapy therefore lowers the levels of estrogen hormones in a person's body or stops their effects.
By Tapiwa Mutasa
Poetry corner Plant a tree Save a life For each one chopped ,plant a tree Trees are our friends Lets not treat them like faint They are alive, they breath They feel pain, they writhe Save a life Plant a tree For each one chopped, plant a tree GO GREEN PLANT A TREE STOP GLOBAL WARMING This is not a poem Just a warning Show a little compassion to mother nature BY LORRAINE mheyamwa
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