Decreased financial and political commitment was blamed recently for the rash of measles outbreaks in 30 African countries.

If the trend continues, by 2012 some 500,000 may die from measles, reversing the gains of the last 18 years that were made against the disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Severe measles can incur complications such as blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhea and dehydration, ear infections or severe respiratory infections such as pneumonia.

Measles deaths among children under five years old fell to 118,000 in 2008 from 733,000 in 2000.

The disease tends to occur among poorly nourished young children with the most severe complications, according to Reuters.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said the African countries that had the largest outbreaks are Zimbabwe, Chad and Nigeria.

Some 8,000 migrant children in Bulgaria also had the highly-contagious disease during the period,

WHO expert Peter Strebel said the World Health Assembly’s 193 member states, in their annual meeting in Geneva last Thursday, decided to aim for at least 90 percent measles vaccination coverage nationally by 2015, Reuters reported.

However these goals, while achievable, require a long and determined commitment by the states themselves.

Strebel said the assembly will also aim for 80 percent coverage in every district, and to reduce measles to less than five per million population, Voice of America said.

They also strive to reduce measles mortality by 95 percent compared to 2000 levels.  It costs less than $1 to vaccinate a child against measles, but two doses are required for full protection, according to Voice of America.

Meanwhile large cases of measles have also erupted in the UK, the USA and parts of Europe due to a flawed study that linked measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination to autism.

In Britain vaccination rates dropped below 90 percent last year following the autism scare, Strebel said.  However, after the study was proven to be flawed, in the U.K. in fact there have more recently been improvements in vaccination levels and disease spread has fallen to very low levels, Reuters reported.

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The U.S. Commision on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) noted in its recent 2010 annual report that President Obama has fallen short of doing what he can to lobby for the protection of religious freedom in the world.

The report noted that until now, President Obama has failed to appoint an Ambassador-At-Large for International Religious Freedom, a request that was made to him last month in a petition signed by lawmakers, scholars and human rights groups.

The same petition requested that the position be given equal level to other Ambassadors-At-Large who report directly to the Secretary of State, according to The Christian Post.

The USCIRF also noted that under Obama’s watch, no countries have been rated CPC, or “countries of particular concern” for having the worst religious violations.

Such a rating can prompt government action including trade restrictions, sanctions, embargoes, and withholding of military or financial aid, among others, The Christian Post said.

The same report said that the USCIRF, an independent US government commission, made these observations even as it said that with every year the issue becomes less and less important to the White House and the State Department.

The position of Ambassador-At-Large for International Religious Freedom, for example, was created in 1998, but it had only been filled in its initial year, and has remained vacant since 1999.

The commission warned Obama that failure to fill the position sent a message to the international community that religious freedom is not an important issue to the American government, the Christian Post said.

The same report noted that USCIRF took issue with the fact that Obama rarely mentioned religious freedom when he visited Ankara and Cairo last year.

Furthermore, Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton replaced the words religious freedom with “freedom of worship.”

The commission said authoritarian governments could skirt the issue by noting that faiths that are okay with them can freely worship.

Credit:svilen001/sxc.hu

They could also permit only token houses of worship for minority faiths.

According to CNN, the USCIRF also reported that:

* Over 24 countries are religious freedom offenders and practice religious persecution.

* Forms of religious persecution may include imprisonment, murder, being fired from jobs, and being kicked out of universities; being forbidden to have bank accounts, driver’s licenses and even birth certificates, among others.

* 13 countries should be rated CPC or “countries of particular concern” because they have the worst religious violations. These countries include Myanmar (Burma), China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Suda, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Vietnam.

* 12 countries on the watch list are Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Laos, Russia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Turkey and Venezuela.

* The report has five more countries under CPC rating than does the State Department’s 2009 report, which did not include Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan or Vietnam.

* 3 countries, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka, should be closely monitored.

Specific Countries

* Egypt. Members of the Baha’I faith and minority Muslim sects are imprisoned, fired from jobs, kicked out of universities, and barred from having bank accounts, birth certificates and driver’s licenses.

* Nigeria. A decade of violence between Muslims and Christians in the Jos state recently culminated in 500 men, women and children hacked to death with machetes and dumped into wells.

* China. Cracked down on Uyghur Muslims in the west.

* Iran. Labeled domestic political opponents “enemies of God” which is a capital offense and can merit severing of the head.

* Eritrea. Harassment of Orthodox Church members and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

* Vietnam. Imprisonment of Buddhists and Protestants.

The USCIRF report urged the government to double its efforts to protect international religious freedom and to raise issues of abuse to the highest levels of the world community, the Christian Post said.

“Anything less betrays our history and values, and fails to leverage the extraordinary capacity we have as a nation to promote religious freedom and related human rights for all,” the report said.

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Violence has erupted anew in troubled Plateau State, Nigeria with the brutal murder of two Christian journalists who were stabbed to death by a mob while they were on their way to interview a politician.

Nathan Sheleph Dabak, deputy editor of The Light Bearer, and reporter Sunday Gyang Bwede   were about on their way to interview the Hon. Bulus Kaze of the Jos East constituency when an angry mob accosted the media men and stabbed them to death on April 24.

The bodies of the victims, who were working for a Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) publication, were found in the Jos University Teaching Hospital mortuary the following day.

Jos, the capital city of Plateau State, borders Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north and Christian south.  Sectarian violence has been rife in the area since 2001 totaling some 2000 people who up to now have been killed in collective violence incidents, according to BBC News.

According to the BBC such incidents, though involving clashes between Muslims and Christians, have underlying political and economic issues.  The report notes that Muslims in the area tend to be nomads, while Christians are farmers, however both groups share Jos.

The BBC primarily blames greedy politicians who benefit from stirring religious hatred to drive away supporters of rival candidates.  National elections are slated to be held in Nigeria next year.

Tensions in Jos remain high.  The deaths of Dabak and Bwede only became known when a friend phoned the former.   A stranger answered saying, “We have killed all of them; you can do your worst,” according to Persecution.org.

Other recent acts of violence include the shooting death of journalist Edo Sule Ugbagwu of the Nation within days of this incident in his home near Lagos.  Also in January 18, some 200 Muslims attacked Christans in St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Nassarawa Gwong, Jos.

Rev. Dr. Pandat Yamsat, president of COCIN, asked churchgoers to “cry out to God and allow Him to take vengeance.”  Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) asked local government officials to arrest the perpetrators even as he appealed for peace, according to the Christian Telegraph.

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A recent Pew survey showed recently that sub-Saharan Africa is among the most religious places in the world; and its least religious nation is more religious than the United States–which is among the most religious of the advanced industrial countries.

The survey was conducted in 19 countries namely Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

The countries were chosen for being the most populous and for their different colonial histories, languages and religions.

The data was collected through more than 25,000 face-to-face interviews in more than 60 languages/dialects from December 2008 to April 2009.

A recent Pew survey showed recently that sub-Saharan Africa is among the most religious places in the world; and its least religious nation is more religious than the United States--which is among the most religious of the advanced industrial countries.

The two dominant religions are Christianity and Islam, and unlike the United States and Europe (where many have no religion) the vast majority is religiously affiliated.  However, they overlap traditional African beliefs and practices with faith.

Large numbers of Africans, whether Christian or Muslim, also believe in witchcraft, evil spirits, sacrifices to ancestors, traditional religious healers and reincarnation among others.

The survey also showed that Christianity and Islam coexist together, and they often view each other as tolerant and honest.

They attribute the peaceful coexistence to their governments which treat both religions fairly.

Some 40 percent of Christians however consider Muslims to be violent, while Muslims assess Christians more positively.

Most respondents favor democracy and religious freedom.  However, Muslims and Christians would both like a government based on either the Bible or sharia law.

Many Muslims also advocate the imposition of severe punishments like stoning people who commit adultery.

The survey also showed that:

• Most respondents rank unemployment, crime and corruption as bigger problems than religious conflict–except in areas like Nigeria and Rwanda where religious conflict is a major problem.
• Many respondents are concerned about religious extremism, even in their own faith. Muslims are more concerned about Muslim extremism than about Christian extremism; and Christians in four countries say they are more concerned about Christian extremism than about Muslim extremism.
• Neither Christianity nor Islam is growing significantly in sub-Saharan Africa at the expense of the other.  There is virtually no religious switching between the two.
• At least half of all Christians in every country surveyed expect that Jesus will return to earth in their lifetime, while roughly 30 percent or more of Muslims expect to live to see the re-establishment of the caliphate, the golden age of Islamic rule.
• In most countries, more than half of Christians believe in the prosperity gospel – that God will grant wealth and good health to people who have enough faith.
• By comparison with people in many other regions of the world, sub-Saharan Africans are much more optimistic that their lives will change for the better.

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Nigerian Christians and Muslims clash yet again near Jos. This time leaving 500 dead. Vanguard Image.

Nigerian officials say more than 500 Nigerian Christians are dead after attacks by neighboring Muslims in Dogo Nahauwa, Nigeria, a town just south of Jos on Sunday.

According to CNN, the marauders, stormed the settlement at 3 a.m. Sunday (9 p.m. Saturday EST) and remained there for more than two hours, setting edifices such as churches on fire and executing people with machetes.

The attacks on the people of Dogo Nahauwa, who are primarily from the Berom tribe, are thought to be retaliation for attacks on the Fulani, a predominantly Muslim tribe, that took place in January nearby.

Though, according to AFP, the archbishop Abuja, John Onaiyekan, told Vatican Radio that the “violence was rooted not in religion but in social, economic and tribal differences,” others are not so sure.

Nigerian publication, This Day published a statement from the Christian Elders Forum, in which the group called this a religiously-motivated attack and blamed the government for not adequately protecting its citizens.

“Their dead bodies are still lying in their own pool of blood as we speak. The attack, yet another jihad and provocation of the Christians, started at about 1.30 a.m. last night. We are in touch with the survivors though many of them are still in trauma,” the statement said.

In response to the massacre, Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Jonathan put the area and nearby states on red alert and began operations to capture those responsible.

In a news release, Jonathan asked Nigerians to remain calm and not to try to retaliate.

“He calls on all Nigerians to remain peaceful and law abiding, since violence only begets further violence,” the release said.

“He also sympathizes with those who have lost relatives and friends in these attacks, asking the Almighty to grant them the fortitude to bear the loss.”

So far, according to AFP, nearly 100 of the culprits have been captured.

“We have been able to make 95 arrests but at the same time over 500 people have been killed in this heinous act,” Dan Manjang, an advisor to the Plateau state government, told AFP.

The BBC reported that Jos has been under a military curfew since the January attacks.

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partor_nigeria

Jim Cessna is definitely a man of God.

He has influenced many– myself included.

Though he has primarily ministered to people in the United States, his influence is felt as far away as Nigeria.

Bottom line: He brings salt and light to our dark world.

I got a chance to speak with Pastor Cessna recently.

I want to thank Mr. Cessna for this interview, please pray for him, that God would continue to use him, like he has for the past 30 years.

Check out our conversation below.

~James

JW: Can you tell me a little about you? Where did you grow up? What you like doing for fun? When did you get saved?

JC: I was born in Fairplay, Colo. during the depression. My family moved to Windsor, Colo. when I was two years old and to Boulder, Colo. when I was 12. I lived in Boulder until I finished high school.

JW: What you like doing for fun?

JC:I really like to fish and ski and hunt and just about everything else that involves the outdoors. I love to pray and spend as much time as possible with my wife and family.

JW: When did you get saved?

JC:I came to Christ in 1962 thanks to a loving group of people who love me with Christ’s love.

JW: What are some of your favorite bible verses?

JC: Favorite Bible verses: I’m always gripped by the Sermon on the Mount.

JW: What led you to become a pastor, or when did you feel by God to become a pastor/teacher?

JC: Early on I felt a call to the pastorate, but it took 12 years of growing a serving in the church before I went to Seminary. I became a pastor in 1974.

JW: Are you pastoring a church right now? If so, can you tell me a little about your church and your different ministries? What are some challenges leading a church or being a pastor? Also, what are some joys being a pastor?

JC: I am now retired, living in the same town where I was born. I serve as an elder in my church and give Spiritual Direction to 8 different people–one in Fairplay, one in Nigeria, and 6 in Denver/Boulder.

My greatest joy was as a missionary teaching in a seminary in Nigeria for three years. Other joys of the pastorate involve watching many parishioners grow in their relationship with Christ.

The challenges of being a pastor are mainly staying true to your calling and to the truth while trying to put out endless fires that seem to fester in many churches.

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