The Juvenile Care Center, a civic democratic initiative support foundation, held a symposium on child labor from 6th to 7th, November 2000. A number of people interested in this subject such as Child Research Center, journalists and academic researchers attended the symposium. Many important working papers were discussed, some of which were summarized. Among those is a working paper, Working Child Conditions in Yemen, prepared by Sua’d Al-Iryani from Radda Barnen, the Swedish Organization for Child Care. The paper focused on social and economic conditions that led children to work. The economic deterioration in Yemen, and that resulting from the Gulf War, have made the living conditions more difficult and increased poverty. According to the 1997 census, about 30% of the population are under the poverty line and unemployment rate increased among males providing for families and the children and females are forced to work to support their families.

Ms. Sua’d Al-Iryani reviewed the reasons for child labor. Among these are: the economic crisis, the high rate of poverty, unemployment, children’s immigration from villages to towns either for study or for work. Those children are obliged to work to sustain themselves and the girls help their mothers by working in houses.
She also explored the legal, social and economic aspects of child labor and solutions to mitigate the phenomenon of children involvement in labor. Some of those solutions are: securing social security for poor families, activating programs for eliminating poverty and targeting the most afflicted groups, securing educational services. In addition, the interested organizations can be involved in handling this phenomenon.

Researcher Mona Ali Salem, Child Labor Unit Director in the Labor and Vocational Training Ministry, presented a working paper to the symposium. She pointed out that studies indicated that 89% of children work in agriculture in the countryside, while 29, 6% - 17, 6% of the total number of children work in selling and in other simple jobs in towns. Generally, children work in auxiliary jobs like helping smiths, helping mechanics and painting cars, washing cars, serving at hotels, shops and groceries, selling things on sidewalks, selling newspapers and magazines, working in buffets and restaurants.

Ms. Fekra Mahmoud, Head of the Women’s’ Committee in the Yemeni Family Care Society - Taiz, presented a working paper in which she discussed the working child conditions in the society, the reasons for work, the local laws and the international conventions related to protection of the working child’s rights. She also discussed the role of the national organizations and governmental societies in finding a practical mechanism for helping working children and protecting their rights. She indicated to an appendix of the approximate statistics for the number of working children in our country.

In her working paper, Ms. Nabiha Abdul-Hamid, General Manager of the Studies and Researches in the Supreme Council for Mother and Child, discussed the definition of the working child’s age. She indicated that specifying the working child’s age varies according to different laws. The Child’s Rights Convention specified that the working child’s age ceiling must be 18, whereas, the World Labor Organization defined in law No. 138 this ceiling at 15. However, the Yemeni laws and legislations defined that 18 years of age is a transitory period for a child to become an adult to undertake all responsibilities and duties in life. She also pointed to the features of child labor.

Ms. Nora Mohammed Ahmed Al-Taheri, from the Mother and Child Office in the Social Green Party, indicated, in her working paper, to the basic motives for the child labor. For poverty is the first motive that compels children to seek jobs because their families cannot afford them the basic needs as they have simple, unavailing jobs or they have no jobs at all. She pointed to the social problems the societies suffer from, divorce is one of them. She mentioned that among the problems leading to child labor are: the non-awareness of the importance of education in the society, truancy from schools to seek work, the spread of illiteracy and the absence of social awareness. The media must undertake the responsibility of spreading social awareness in society.

Ms. Al-Taheri suggested some solutions to this phenomenon. The most important ones are: applying the laws of the World Child Convention, treating the truancy problem, organizing a nationwide campaign to eliminate illiteracy by opening educational centers for adults, encouraging creativity in all life aspects, supervising children when they mix with adults at work, giving children jobs suiting their abilities mentally and physically, eliminating poverty, spreading the social solidarity, notifying employers not to hire very young children.

Researches have been made this year show that Sana'a is threatened with severe drought. Numbers given in those researches were horrific to the extent heralding the occurrence of a real catastrophe. May be the increasing water problem in Al-shurfa 90km to the east of Sana'a is a real warning that a water problem is about to happen.
A mere coincidence led me to know about water crisis in that area when I met one of my friends from Al-shurfa. And after a detailed discussion with him, I decided to go there to see with my own eyes what's the situation like over there.
On our way to Al-shurfa villages we noticed that all grape farms on both sides of the road to Al-shurfa were dry and trees were only good for fire wood.
Mr. Abdulla Saleh Al-rajami told us that 95 families migrated from their homes to work in Sana'a, Aljaof or Mareb because of water shortage which made them unable to irrigate their lands anymore, and there are about 700 other families intend to immigrate " what's the use of staying without water" , one of the farmers said, who used to receive about 500 thousand Riyals for selling grapes each year in addition to grains and qat.
 

Dr. Fareed Mohammed Saeed,
Ph. D. ENT Specialist
Sana’a General Police Hospital
Catha edulis is widely cultivated in the south of the Arabian Peninsula and south-eastern Africa (Korr, 1983). It plays an important role in the life of Yemeni society. People use it to cure such diseases as bronchial asthma, diarrhea, etc.
Quite many works have been devoted to studies on pharmacological properties of catha edulis. Most of them concentrated on the alkaloids present in this plant, and on the psychological effects of its application. However, there is evidence that the influence of catha edulis on the organism is not restricted by only amphetamine-like, CNS-stimulating effect. For example, the investigations by E. Jrgensen and T. kaimany (1990) have shown catha edulis to have pronounced anti-inflammatory effect. Kaimany and Jorgensen have proved through experiments, that qat has a sterilizing effect inside the mouth. The study by Tariq, Parmar et al (1984) has demonstrated the anti-ulcerous action of this plant. For the above reasons, we studied the microbial effects of two of the most widespread organisms, which cause ENT and other diseases.

Staphylococcus aureus
These organisms are spread in the air, dust, clothes, and bedding. They are transmitted to these places by infected people. They may also be founded as commensals in the nasal mucosa and throats of about 50% of healthy adults. They are also found in the adenoids of 20% and the skins of 10% of the people. These organisms generate rapidly especially in the nose and on the perineal skin. This type of organisms colonize the nasal cavities of about 9% of the newly born within the first two weeks after birth.
So these organisms infect the skin and its appendages such as the pustules, furuncles, boils, impetigo, styes, and also infect most wounds caused by surgeries or accidents. Pus in subcutaneous abscesses and connective tissues is also usually caused by these organisms. Other diseases caused by them also include generalized septicemia, intestinal disorders, staphylococcal food poisoning, and enteritis. The latter can be caused in rare cases by derangement of the intestinal floral due to treatment with some antibiotics. In some abnormal conditions, staphylococcus can cause severe inflammation in the intestines. Then it will have to be treated with an antibiotic to which the offending strain is sensitive.

Streptococcus pyogens (beta-haemolitic streptococci)
A healthy person may carry in his throat or nose several strains of streptococcus pyogens. Acute sore throat is commonly caused by such organisms. Cervical lymphadenitis is also caused by these organisms. The infection can spread to the middle ear, the mastoids, and even to the meninges. Scarlet fever results from the infection of the throat with streptococcus pyogens, which produces a toxin causing erythgenic. If the patient has no immunity against this toxin, the skin rash which characterizes the scarlet fever appears. Other diseases caused by streptococcus pyogens include impetigo, erysipelas, and post natal uterus infections such as puerperal sepsis. Their spread in the lymphatic system causes lymphangitis, lymphadenitis. They cause septicemia when they go into the blood stream. Streptococcus pyogens are also responsible for acute rheumatism and glomerulonephritis. Such diseases are preceded by a 2 or 3 week infection of the throat.

Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Activity
In Vitro
The antimicrobial activity to extract from catha edulis leaves was evaluated by its action on the cultures of staphylococcus aureus, streptococcus hemolyticus (two cultures). All microorganisms were obtained from patients with diseases of the upper respiratory tracts. They showed signs of increased pathogenic activity. The antimicrobial activity of catha edulis extract was studied for the dilutions of 1:10, 1:100, 1:300, 1:1000, and 1:3000. After 4 hours of cultivation, the concentration of staphylococcus activity in dilutions 91:10 - 1:1000) has reduced 4 times, on the average. In a day, the extract from catha edulis in all these dilutions was sterile. The dilution of 1:3000 did not cause complete bacterial effect. Streptococcus turned out to be more sensitive to the action of catha edulis extract suppressing action of the extract in 1:100 and 1:300 dilutions, on the streptococcus culture was noted right upon adding the microorganisms suspension. In 4 hours of cultivation, the extract in these dilutions, as well as in the 1:1000 one was practically sterile. In all the check experiments when physiological salt solution of NaCl was used instead of catha edulis extract (7 tests), 4 4.7 time increase in microorganisms concentration of staphylococcus and streptococcus was recorded in 4 hours. In a day, the growth of microorganisms was observed to be beyond all calculations. (See picture)

In Vivo
The experimentally revealed pharmacological properties of the preparation from catha edulis leaves make it possible to attribute it to the class of adaptogens-immune-modulators. It possesses antimicrobial and antiviral activity. The preparation is considered to be a promising one for the in clinical practice.

All in all, 50 patients with vasomotor rhinitis were treated. The essence of treating was in lavage of rhinopharynx and nasal cavity with the extract from catha edulis leaves in the concentration (1:300). Treatment lasts from 10 to 14 days. Efficiency of treatment was determined by observing the direct clinical effect (complete removal of the disease symptoms).
Bacterial sensitization has noticeably decreased after treating patients with the extract from catha edulis.The number of patients with sensitization to streptococcus and staphylococcus allergens has reduced more than 4 times as compared to the number before the treatment (p<0.01).
The clinical and laboratory investigations have shown catha edulis extracts to manifest antimicrobial action not only in vitro but also in vivo. Thus, a considerable reduction of general bacterial dissemination has been noted after the treatment. If compared to the index prior to the treatment, the number of patients with an increased bacterial dissemination has reduced 5 times after the therapy (p<0.01).
The above changes in the nasal autofloral of patients with vasomotor rhinitis after the treatment with the extract from catha edulis leaves testifies to the antimicrobial action of this preparation in vivo.