In Uganda, the journalists and NGOs worksop was held in Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala from the 22nd to 23rd February 2011. There were 19 journalists and 10 NGO members.
 At the opening of the training, Dr. Shiela Ndwanabandi, Focal Point for tobacco control at the Ugandese ministery of Health thanked ATCC for this project which will surely enhance the quality of tobacco control actions in Uganda. She invited participants to carefully pay attention to all the presentations so as to enhance their knowledge in tobacco control. After these introductory remarks, the objectives of the workshop were presented to participants. The workshop aimed at:

• Raising the level of awareness of participants on the FCTC and tobacco control legislation and policy in Uganda
• Enhance journalists and NGOs capacities on tobacco control in Uganda.
• Facilitate alliance building amongst different tobacco control stakeholders in the country.
• Identify and create a pool of journalists with special dedication to tobacco control issues.
• Create an opportunity to enhance relationships between tobacco control advocates and the media in Uganda.

The workshop was conducted in two days and was characterized by presentations in the form of lectures, plenary sessions and group works.
On the first day, presentations focused on facts about tobacco and its impacts on health, economy and environment, policy and legislation in Uganda, the FCTC and obligations of parties, tobacco, MDGs and NCDs; mainstreaming tobacco in news coverage and an introduction to media advocacy.
The second day of the workshop came back on media advocacy with a focus on how to efficiently use media in Uganda for advocacy on tobacco control, elements of good reporting, the use of statistics on tobacco to write stories, and the different opportunities offered by ATCC to journalists and NGOs i.e. Tobacco Control Journalists Network Grants as well as Tobacco Control Action Grants. The participants were told that these grants aim at strengthening tobacco control policies in African countries through NGOs and media and help in the implementation of FCTC. This will be efficiently achieved through TC advocates and journalists networks in the different countries.

During group works, participants discussed many issues such as how to strengthen relationships between journalists and NGOs for better tobacco control actions in Uganda and how to set up a communication strategy to push a policy forward.
In their resolutions after this workshop, participants agreed on:

• The necessity for Ugandan journalists to gather in a movement for tobacco control.
• The necessity for medias to write more stories on tobacco control
• The necessity of a strong partnership between journalists and NGOs in Uganda

The workshop was closed by M. Gilbert Muyambi, General Secretary of the Ugandan National Tobacco Control Association. He urged the media and NGOs to make proper use of all the information they got during the workshop so as to push forward tobacco control in Uganda.

With the financial support of the Norwegian Cancer Society (NCS), the African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) has send a high level delegation to Lusaka, Zambia from 15th to 17th of February 2011 to meet the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) authorities, health authorities, WHO representative, journalists and other TC stakeholders of the region. This delegation lobbied the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) authorities on the need to implement and enforce the articles 9 and 10 of the FCTC. The general objective of the activity is to protect the health of the populations living within COMESA against the harmful effects of tobacco use by promoting the integration of tobacco control in the developmental agendas within the region.
The specific objectives of the visit are:

• To address the misconception that has been created about articles 9 and 10 of the FCTC and its impact on African tobacco farming.
• To bring COMESA authorities to reconsider their position against the guidelines on articles 9 and 10 of the FCTC
• To promote the integration of tobacco control in developmental agendas in COMESA

The following activities have been undertaken:

• Meeting with the ministry of Health of Zambia
• Meeting with WHO Zambia Focal Person in Lusaka
• Meeting with COMESA authorities in COMESA headquarters
• Press briefing with 30 journalists and NGOs in Zambia

The following persons have attended the meetings:

• Rachel KITONYO, Chair, African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA), Chair of the visit
• Ms Kokulinda Kagaruki LUTGARD, Director, The Tanzania Tobacco Control Forum (TTCF)
• Muyunda ILILONGA, Director of Zambia Consumer Association (ZACA)
• Patrick MUSAVULI, Regional Coordinator, the Framework Convention Alliance (FCA)
• Adeola AKINREMI, Resource Centre Coordinator, the Africa Tobacco Control Regional Initiative(ATCRI)
• Mamadou Bamba SAGNA, Development Campaign Coordinator, the African Tobacco Control Alliance(ATCA)

Thanks to a financial support from the Campaign for Tobacco Free-Kids (CTFK), ATCA is implementing a 2 year project to train journalists and tobacco control advocates in 7 countries in Africa on the use of media for tobacco control. The title of the project is: “Building media capacity for tobacco control in 7 countries in Africa”. The project aims at building media capacity for tobacco control so as to increase the quantity and quality of tobacco control stories in the targeted 7 African countries. Four workshops have already been held last year in Botswana, Sénégal, DRC and Ethiopia. These workshops will be organized in three other countries this year.

The project has the following objectives:

• To train journalists and tobacco control advocates in 7 countries on the use of media for tobacco control
• To set up and strengthen tobacco control journalists’ networks in the 7 countries

This project intend to contribute to activities being carried out by the African Tobacco Control Consortium (ATCC) in the field of tobacco control in Africa.

In Botswana, the workshop was held at CRESTA PRESIDENT Hotel in Gaborone on the 15th and 16th September 2010. Twenty (20) journalists and twelve (12) NGO members attended this two days workshop. At the opening of the training, Ms Bontle Mbongwe, local facilitator thanked ATCC for this project which will surely enhance the quality of tobacco control actions in Botswana. She invited participants to carefully pay attention to all the presentations so as to enhance their knowledge in tobacco control. According to Ms Bontle, the workshop aimed at the following objectives:

• Raise the level of awareness on the FCTC and tobacco legislation and policy in Botswana
• Enhance journalists and NGOs capacities on tobacco control in Botswana.
• Facilitate alliance building amongst different tobacco control stakeholders in Botswana.
• Identify and create a pool of journalists with special dedication to tobacco control issues.
• Create an opportunity to enhance relationships between tobacco control advocates and the media in Botswana.

The workshop was conducted in two days and was characterized by presentations in the form of lectures, plenary sessions and group works.
On the first day, presentations focused on facts about tobacco and its impacts on health, economy and environment, policy and legislation in Botswana, the situational analysis of tobacco control in Botswana, the FCTC and obligations of parties, tobacco control and MDGs in Africa with a focus on Botswana, mainstreaming tobacco in news coverage and media advocacy.
The second day of the workshop came back on media advocacy with a focus on how to efficiently use media in Botswana for advocacy in tobacco control, elements of good reporting, COP 4 and Tobacco Control Journalists Network Grants as well as Tobacco Control Action Grants. The participants were told that these grants aim at strengthening tobacco control policies in African countries through NGOs and media and help in the implementation of FCTC. This will be efficiently achieved through TC advocates and journalists networks in the different countries. Journalists’ network grants will be awarded in 2010 and 2011 for an amount of $ 10,000. The conditions to be fulfilled for each country to get this grants are:

• Need for media advocacy to support ongoing policy change
• Presence of a Tobacco Control Journalists Network
• Presence of a strong NGO in the country who can assist with convening the journalists and link up with them afterward to feed them information.

Apart from these grants which will go to journalists’ networks, we also have Investigative reporting for an amount of $3600 which will be granted from 2011 to 2014. This award will go to individual journalists who will show special commitment to the tobacco control issues through investigative journalism.

Some other issues were discussed by participants during group works: how to strengthen relationships between journalists and NGOs for better tobacco control actions in the country as well as violations of the Botswana Control of Smoking Act (CSA) of 1992 and how to remedy to these violations.
Participants recommended the following:

• There is an urgent need to form a network of journalists in Botswana.
• There is need to train more journalists and NGOs in Botswana on tobacco control
• Funding should be made available to facilitate follow-up training
• The media should write stories that would expose the tobacco industry with regard to its interference in tobacco control efforts in Botswana.

The workshop was closed by the WHO Representative in Botswana Dr. Eugene Nyarko. He urged the media and NGOs to make use of the opportunities to fight the tobacco war, including diseases like cancer, respiratory diseases and cardiovascular diseases.

In Sénégal, the workshop was held at Hotel Faidherbe in Dakar on the 5th and 6th October 2010. Eighteen (18) journalists and twelve (12) NGO members attended the workshop. At the opening of the training, Mr Oumar NDAO, focal point for tobacco control actions in the Senegalese Ministry of Health thanked ATCC for this project which will surely enhance the quality of tobacco control actions in Senegal. And the objectives of the workshop were presented to participants. These objectives are:

• Raise the level of awareness on the FCTC and tobacco legislation and policy in Senegal
• Enhance journalists and NGOs capacities on tobacco control in Senegal.
• Identify and create a pool of journalists and NGOs with special dedication to tobacco control issues.
• Create an opportunity to enhance relationships between tobacco control advocates and the media in Senegal.

The workshop was conducted in two days and was characterized by presentations in the form of lectures, plenary sessions and group works.

The first day focused on facts about tobacco and its impact on health, economy and environment, the situation of tobacco control legislation in Senegal, the FCTC, the strategies of the tobacco industry in Senegal, tobacco and MDGs and mainstreaming tobacco in news coverage.
The second day was on media advocacy, elements of good reporting, the COP 4 and Tobacco Control Journalists Network Grants and Tobacco Control Action Grants. These grants aim at strengthening tobacco control policies in African countries through NGOs and media and help in the implementation of FCTC. This will be efficiently achieved through TC advocates and journalists networks in the different countries. Journalists’ network grants will be awarded in 2010 and 2011 for an amount of $10,000. The conditions to be fulfilled to get this grant are:

• Need for media advocacy to support ongoing policy change
• Presence of a Tobacco Control Journalists Network
• Presence of a strong NGO in the country who can assist with convening the journalists and link up with them afterward to feed them information.

Apart from these grants which will go to journalists’ networks, we also have Investigative reporting for an amount of $3600 which will be granted from 2011 to 2014.

Participants recommended the following:

• There is an urgent need to form a network of journalists in Senegal. And just at the end of the workshop, Senegalese journalists created a network named «Association des journalistes sénégalais de lutte contre le tabac» (AJSLT)
• There is need to train more journalists and NGOs in Senegal on tobacco control
• Funding should be made available to facilitate follow-up training
• The media should write stories that would expose the tobacco industry with regard to its interference on tobacco control efforts in Senegal.

In DRC, the workshop was held at Résidence Hotelière Le WAPAL in Kinshasa on the 14th and 15th October 2010. There were nineteen (19) journalists and five (05) NGO members. At the opening of the training, Mr Rigobert Mbuyu, Tobacco Control Program Coordinator at the Congolese Ministry of Health thanked ATCC for this initiative which will give another sight to tobacco control actions in DRC. The workshop aimed at the following objectives:

• Raise the level of awareness on the FCTC and tobacco legislation and policy in DRC.
• Enhance journalists and NGOs capacities on tobacco control in DRC.
• Facilitate alliance building amongst different tobacco control stakeholders in DRC.
• Identify and create a pool of journalists and NGOs with special dedication to tobacco control issues in the country.
• Create an opportunity to enhance relationships between tobacco control advocates and the media in DRC.

The workshop was conducted in two days and was characterized by presentations in the form of lectures, plenary sessions and group works.

The first day focused on facts about tobacco and its impact on health, economy and environment, policy, legislation and the FCTC, the links between tobacco and MDGs, the strategies and techniques for mainstreaming tobacco in news coverage. The second day was on media advocacy, elements of good reporting and on up-coming tobacco control events such as COP 4, the necessity of a collaboration between journalists and NGOs in tobacco control activities and Tobacco Control Journalists Network Grants and Tobacco Control Action Grants. Journalists’ network grants will be awarded in 2010 and 2011 for an amount of $ 10,000. The conditions to be fulfilled to get this grant are:

• Need for media advocacy to support ongoing policy change
• Presence of a Tobacco Control Journalists Network
• Presence of a strong NGO in the country who can assist with convening the journalists and link up with them afterward to feed them information.

Apart from these grants which will go to journalists’ networks, we also have Investigative reporting for an amount of $3600 which will be granted from 2011 to 2014. This award will go to individual journalists who will show special commitment to the tobacco control issues through investigative journalism.

Participants recommended the following:

• There is an urgent need of a network of journalists in DRC for tobacco control. And for this purpose, journalists decided to strengthen the existing network named «Association des Communicateurs en Santé de l’Afrique» (ACSA)
• There is need to train more journalists and NGOs in DRC on tobacco control
• Funding should be made available to facilitate follow-up of training
• The media should write more storieson tobacco control.

Closing the workshop on behalf of the Minister of health Mr. Rigobert Mbuyu, Focal Point for tobacco control encouraged media practitioners to intensify their reporting in tobacco control as well as playing their role as the watchdog of the nation on issues that negatively affect the health and wellbeing of the nation, tobacco included. The media practitioners were encouraged to be professional in reporting on tobacco control matters.

In Ethiopia, the workshop was held at Kaleb Hotel in Addis Ababa on the 6th and 7th December 2010. Twenty (20) journalists and five (5) NGO members attended the workshop. At the opening of the training, Mr Hailegnaw Esthete, Executive Director of the Ethiopian Public Health Association (EPHA) thanked ATCC for this project which will surely enhance the quality of tobacco control actions in Ethiopia. According to him, the main challenge of Ethiopia today is the ratification of the FCTC and the workshop will surely contribute to that. The workshop aimed at the following objectives:

• Raise the level of awareness on the FCTC and the situation of tobacco control legislation and policy in Ethiopia.
• Enhance journalists and NGOs capacities on tobacco control in Ethiopia.
• Identify and create a pool of journalists and NGOs with special dedication to tobacco control issues.
• Create an opportunity to enhance relationships between tobacco control advocates and the media in Ethiopia.

The workshop was conducted in two days and was characterized by presentations in the form of lectures, plenary sessions and group works.
The first day focused on facts about tobacco and its impact on health, economy and environment, the situational analysis of tobacco control in Ethiopia, policy and legislation in Ethiopia, the FCTC, tobacco and the MDGs, and mainstreaming tobacco in news coverage The second day was on media advocacy, elements of good reporting, the outcomes of COP 4 and Tobacco Control Journalists Network Grants and Tobacco Control Action Grants. These grants aim at strengthening tobacco control policies in African countries through NGOs and media and help in the implementation of FCTC. This will be efficiently achieved through TC advocates and journalists networks in the different countries. Journalists’ network grants will be awarded in 2010 and 2011 for an amount of $ 10,000. The conditions to be fulfilled to get this grant are:

• Need for media advocacy to support ongoing policy change
• Presence of a Tobacco Control Journalists Network
• Presence of a strong NGO in the country who can assist with convening the journalists and link up with them afterward to feed them information.

Apart from these grants which will go to journalists’ networks, we also have Investigative reporting for an amount of $3600 which will be granted from 2011 to 2014. This award will go to individual journalists who will show special commitment to the tobacco control issues through investigative journalism.

Some issues were discussed by participants during group works: how to strengthen relationships between journalists and NGOs for better tobacco control actions in Ethiopia and participants developed recommendations to the government and to partners in tobacco control. They recommended the following:

• The ratification and implementation of the FCTC in Ethiopia
• There is an urgent need to form a network of journalists in Ethiopia.
• There is need to train more journalists and NGOs in Ethiopia on tobacco control
• The media should write stories that would accelerate the process of ratification of FCTC.

A Legal Workshop for Tobacco Control Lawyers in Africa was held in Nairobi, Kenya with over 50 lawyers from over 32 countries present. The workshop, which is co-organized by the International Legal Consortium at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) and Africa Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) is providing the platform to discuss common concerns and issues related to tobacco control in Africa, sharing information on effective tobacco control legislation in Africa and shaping goals, objectives and activities of the Lawyers network.

Countries represented at the meeting include Mauritius, Nigeria, Zambia, Burkina-Faso, Lesotho, Swaziland, Kenya, Ghana, DR Congo, Gabon, Senegal, South Africa, Cameroon and Togo. Others include Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, Mali, Madagascar, Niger, Sierra Leone, Eritrea, Cote d’Ivoire, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Benin, Gambia, United States and Canada.
Deliberations at the meeting were about the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which is the first global public health treaty negotiated under the auspecies of the World Health Organization for tobacco product regulation, manufacturing, sales and promotion. FCTC currently has 167 countries of which forty (40) African countries, and are obliged to fulfill provisions of the convention.

Providing a comprehensive overview of tobacco control legislation and the FCTC, Patricia Lambert, Director of the International Legal Consortium the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) in Washington, DC noted that “Africans played a major role in the negotiations for the FCTC. It is an African document. Now is the time to convey the powerful words of the FCTC to concrete actions in every African country”.

“African lawyers must get prepared to face tobacco companies’ oppositions which won’t be about to rest. There is no need to be afraid as FCTC has provided guides to ensure successful implementation of a smoke-free Africa” says Rachel Kitonyo, Chairperson of the Africa Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA).

According to Mr. Adeola Akinremi, FCA Africa Coordinator, “This workshop is coming at the very right moment for Africa, bringing together lawyers at this critical time that many countries on the continent are reviewing their tobacco control legislation”.

According to the WHO, “African countries are experiencing the highest increase in tobacco use rate in developing countries. In the African region, tobacco consumption is increasing by 4.3 percent per year.” This development is driven in part by the tobacco industry, which increasingly targets the developing world as barriers rise and smoking rates fall in more “mature” markets around the world.

Globally, tobacco use causes one over ten deaths among adults worldwide – more than five million people a year. Unless urgent actions are taken, tobacco will kill 8 million people a year by 2030, 80 percent of them in developing countries.