I want to be cautious here, because Africa is a hugely complex continent and you can't really generalize about it.

If you think about it, the Mulroney position on South Africa and the opposition to apartheid was a far more principled position than had been true of (former prime minister) Pierre Trudeau,

and said I could not come to South Africa until I had apologized to many individuals and groups, the president and herself included.

I think when you've travelled around a lot in Africa, you understand something that many people here don't recognize: the extraordinary power that is Africa at village level - at community level.

Swaziland is a small part of south-east Africa, the last country in the continent to gain its independence.

More is currently at stake in terms of lives saved or lost in Africa than on any other continent. As humanitarian workers, we cannot accept that so many lives are lost every year on this continent to preventable diseases, neglect and senseless brutality.