European Parliament

Mise à jour le Jeudi, 13 Décembre 2012 12:08 Écrit par Communications Intern Jeudi, 14 Octobre 2010 08:50

Head of Sections - Filip Kaczmarek Filip Kaczmarek is a member of the European Parliament, the Group of the European People's Party and a member of the Development Committee.

Activites

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AWEPA SECTION in the European Parliament - Meeting on Pan-African Programme

Cancer: open your eyes to cancer in Africa. Filip Kaczmarek MEP

Cancer kills more people globally than HIV, tuberculosis and malaria put together. Last year, it killed nearly 8 million people and by 2020 there are expected to be 16 million new cases of cancer every year. African countries are the least able to cope with this disease, and the number of deaths and people dying in pain is higher than in the rest of the world simply because its treatment is too expensive and people are not aware of the size of the problem.

 "There have been some efficient campaigns organised around AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, but recently there have been more deaths in the world caused by cancer than these three diseases combined. Africa remains the continent the least prepared to cope with the devastating effects of this new pandemic, having only a few cancer care services available", said Filip Kaczmarek, Vice-Chairman of the Development Committee of the European Parliament and organiser of the Hearing to be held today on Cancer in Africa.

 According to WHO GLOBOCAN estimations, in the whole of Africa, there were more than 80 thousand new cases of cervical cancer detected in 2008 and 53 thousand deaths the same year by the same cancer. Moreover, a majority of cancers in Africa are diagnosed at an advanced stage because of the lack of screening and early detection services as well as limited awareness of early signs and symptoms of cancer among the public and healthcare providers.

"I would not be mistaken if I said that the increasing number of cancer cases in Africa has been largely overlooked and underestimated. Thus, we decided to organise this Hearing about the growing impact of cancer in Africa with the aim of raising cancer awareness and to promote evidence-based policies and programmes of cancer prevention in Africa", said Mr Kaczmarek.

The Hearing has been organised by Filip Kaczmarek MEP and the EPP Group in the European Parliament with the European Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs. The participants include representatives of UNDP, OXFAM, the Red Cross and oncological associations who will discuss the problem of healthcare in Africa, including the role of different organisations in fighting diseases in Africa. The Hearing will also focus on the treatment of cervical cancer in developing countries. It starts today, 27 June, from 15.00.

For more information on the Hearing, click on the banner below. To check the pictures from the event, click here.

 

For further information:
Filip Kaczmarek MEP, Tel: +32-2-8445317
Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. , EPP Group Press and Communications Service, Tel. +32-473-841093  

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Persbericht

Straatsburg, 4 juli 2011
Hulp nodig aan rampgebied in Hoorn van Afrika

"Meer dan 10 miljoen mensen in de Hoorn van Afrika moeten zonder water proberen te overleven. De Europese Unie moet direct humanitaire hulp bieden aan deze regio die getroffen wordt door de grootste periode van droogte in 60 jaar ", vindt PvdA-Europarlementariër Thijs Berman. De VN en hulporganisaties luiden vandaag de noodklok over de grote hoeveelheden vluchtelingen uit onder andere Somalië, die onderdak zoeken in vluchtelingenkampen in Ethiopië en Noord Kenia. "Deze mensen komen uitgedroogd en ondervoed aan in deze kampen. Terwijl er in Ethiopië en Noord Kenia al te weinig water en voedsel is om de eigen bevolking te voorzien", aldus Berman.

 

Berman was mei jl. in de Keniaanse provincie Turkana, waar hij de gevolgen van de droogte heeft gezien. "Meertjes en rivieren zijn zeldzaam, dus mensen moeten in opgedroogde rivierbedden diep graven naar water, dat ze vervolgens met kleine kopjes in een emmer scheppen. Nu de situatie in de afgelopen twee maanden alleen maar is verslechterd dan weet ik dat snelle actie echt pure noodzaak is".

Vandaag heeft Berman de Europese Hoge Vertegenwoordiger, Catherine Ashton, en Europees Commissaris Georgieva opgeroepen om zo snel mogelijk humanitaire hulp te bieden aan de getroffen regio, zoals schoon drinkwater, voedsel en tenten die onderdak kunnen bieden aan de nieuwe toestroom van vluchtelingen.

 

"Deze vluchtelingen zijn het slachtoffer van de gevolgen van klimaatverandering, die zij zelf niet hebben veroorzaakt. Het is de plicht van het Westen en dus van de EU om hulp te bieden", vindt Berman. Daarnaast vraagt hij de Europese Commissie, in samenspraak met de lidstaten, om voor deze regio een lange termijn beleid op te stellen, om deze noodsituaties in de toekomst te helpen voorkomen.

 

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Stop Biodiversity Loss at Nagoya summit
AWEPA member and Dutch Member of the European Parliament, Gerben Jan Gerbrandy will be attending the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, from 18 to 29 October 2010. Hon. Gerben Jan Gerbrandy recently set up a petition to stop the loss of biodiversity in Africa. One example is the proposed construction of a highway through the Serengeti National Park in Central Africa. The hunt for resources leads to a loss of biodiversity, and natural resources which serve the purpose of food, shelter, medicines, clean air and water, among others. Please read his speech below.

 

Netherlands - As we discuss the European position at the Nagoya summit outside this House a hunt is undertaken. A severe hunt for resources. A hunt for oil and gas, minerals, timber, food, water. A hunt for resources that are provided by nature.

 

In this hunt Chinese investors want to construct a highway through the Serengeti National Park to disclose the resources of Central Africa. Are Saudi investors putting billions of dollars on the table to build 6000 km of roads through the rainforests of Congo. To start huge palm oil plants. This hunt is now serving 7 billion people. In a few decades it will serve 9 billion people.

 

We all want to stop the loss of biodiversity. But in the real world this hunt for resources is frustrating our goals. That is reality.Therefore, the only way to stop the loss of biodiversity is by radically changing our behaviour. We need biodiversity for food, shelter, medicines, clean air, water and so on and so forth. We simply cannot survive without it. 

 

We are reaching tipping points at which damage is irreversible and even worse, accelerating itself. That is the sense of urgency of the Nagoya summit and that is the sense of urgency I expect from the attending ministers. Political declarations and resolutions will not be sufficient to reach this sense of urgency. We need much more pressure. For that reason I have started with many colleagues from all over the world an online campaign. I want all people to have their voice heard on this issue.

 

Go to stopbiodiversityloss at Facebook and support this campaign. I will, together with many colleagues present the thousands of signatures to the decision makers in Nagoya. To let them know that people depend on their perseverance and persistance to make Nagoya a success.

 

To sign this petition, please click here.

To view a video of the speech, please click here.