African press review 19 August 2014

Nigeria is looking to bats to combat Ebola, South Africa goes out on a limb at the SADC summit and Uganda's boys step into manhood, leaving a part of themselves behind.

In Nigeria, Premium Times runs with the story of how the government is counting bats in an effort to steer clear of Ebola. The Ministry of Environment launched a survey in Abuja as part of health control measures.

Fruit bats are known to be carriers of the Ebola. Though data is scarce, research suggests that people can pick up the virus from the bats' excrements; or by eating the infected meat.

The Nigerian government is planning a sweeping extermination campaign of the bats in urban areas.

In other news of the virus in Nigeria, the Guardian has an exclusive interview with a member of the National Committee on Ebola.

He says the government wants to deploy a Japanese drug to treat patients. This after the US told Nigerian diplomats it was out of the experimental serum it had provided Liberia. Top research doctors are also working on reactivating a bitter kola drug for the treatment of the virus - this is strictly speaking not a cure, but rather a drug that could keep stabilize a victim's health.

The Guardian also says four additional people have been discharged disease-free from quarantine in Lagos, after having successfully battled the virus. This for a bug with very high fatality rates is a piece of rare, good news.

South African President Jacob Zuma came under fire at the SADC conference in Victoria Falls this weekend. That's what the Mail & Guardian reports, saying his Zimbabwean counterpart criticized him for refusing to sign a trade protocol.

The regional agreement spells out general trade obligations between states. Though it doesn't neccessarily imply liberalisation, it does open a window for countries to push for less barriers.

Namibia and South Africa were the only ones not to sign, and the Mail & Guardian says Zuma changed his mind at the last moment.

This prompted current SADC chairman Robert Mugabe to say that South Africa should quit treating the rest of the region like its backyard, where it can dump its products. Other countries want to access to South African markets too.

As the SADC summit is wrapping up, another international conference is underway in Zimbabwe: this one brings together Jehova's Witnesses.

The online Zimbabwean News Day says nearly 60,000 Witnesses from all over the world are expected in the capital for an annual faith congress.

The prayer event also happens simultaneously in other regions of the world as well. According to NewsDay, delegates will be arriving from Europe and the Americas but also West Africa, raising fears over a potential health threat.

Though the country has not yet had a case of Ebola, this has not stopped the government from training medical staff in case of an outbreak.

And finally in Uganda, the Daily Monitor marks the start of the Imbalu season.

The Bagisu ethnic group in eastern Uganda holds a ceremony every even year to mark the circumcision of teenage boys.

At least 100 boys will be circumcised today. And according to the Monitor's reporting, Ugandan President Museveni and his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta will both be in attendance.

The Monitor says though circumcision is seen as a spiritual coming-of-age, not everyone does it willingly. Bagisu women often report their husbands to elders if they are not circumcized. And so-called cowards fleeing the operation will be nabbed - and snipped - by force.

But the Bagisu celebrations are also a cultural institution, with many traveling from across the country to enjoy the show, and watch the (quote) ripe boys do their traditional dance.

Legend has it that the removal of the foreskin was initially a punishment for a man who went after other men’s wives.

When the man recovered though, he resumed his seductive activities - this time with such skill that it drew women to him. This is why the tradition has stuck.