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Friday, September 29, 2017

PAUWES graduates 48 on energy, water, climate change

The Pan African University Institute for Water and Energy Sciences including Climate Change (PAUWES) celebrated the second graduating class of its both tracks of two Master programmes  with 47 students from across the African continent, report NaijaAgroNet.

The graduating students, NaijaAgroNet gathered have received their diplomas during a ceremony at the University of Tlemcen.

Director, PAUWES at University of Tlemcen, Prof. Abdellatif Zerga, said this year’s graduating students join the next generation of African engineers and policymakers committed to addressing the issues critical to Africa’s sustainable development. They have not only successfully completed their coursework requirements, but have conducted practice-oriented research for their master theses based on a multitude of case studies that address the water, energy, and climate-related challenges Africa faces.

NaijaAgroNet reports that in order to gain a transcontinental perspective of those same challenges, our students have also completed international internships in the private and public sectors at renowned research institutions cross Africa and beyond. Besides focusing on their studies, the students of the Class of 2017—with the support of PAUWES—launched the first student-lead clubs, the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Club and the Community of Practice (CoP), which have contributed to the overall sense of community and leadership that our institute strives to promote.

This cohort of graduating students, NaijaAgroNet reports, represents and fulfills one of the key objectives of the Pan African University (PAU) and PAUWES, which is to foster an African learning environment of the most qualified and motivated scholars while revitalizing and nurturing the quality of African higher education.

Not only are an array African Union member states and eleven female students represented in the Class of 2017, but this diverse cohort of students have had the opportunity to study alongside an international faculty of over 100 professors and researchers from across Africa and the world.

Supported by PAUWES, the University of Tlemcen and our key thematic partner—Germany, we are confident that students of the Class of 2017 are well positioned to become leaders in public administration, policy-making, research, technology, private enterprise, and civil society.

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Thursday, September 28, 2017

Smallholders worst affected by lumpy skin disease

The ongoing epidemic of lumpy skin disease is affecting largely the smallholder farmers’ leading to the warning by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), reports NaijaAgroNet.

In a position paper made available to NaijaAgroNet, FAO warned that even countries that have not been affected by lumpy skin disease so far but are considered at risk need to carry out risk-based vaccination to avert the spread of the disease, which can have devastating consequences for farmers, particularly smallholders.

Pointing out that for broader cattle vaccination to keep lumpy skin disease at bay, especially in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, and in areas where the risk is the highest.

Lumpy skin disease is a cattle pox virus transmitted by biting insects that can be deadly for cattle but does not affect humans. The disease used to be confined to Africa only. In 2013, it emerged in Turkey and then quickly spread through nine countries in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. 

At the height of the disease’s spread in Europe, countries hit by lumpy skin disease registered up to 200 outbreaks, which have led to significant economic losses – due to drops in milk production and reduced quality of skins – and the death of up to around 15 percent of the affected herds.

“Although the outbreak in Europe was contained in April following mass vaccinations, we have seen the disease resurface in recent months in Albania, Greece and Macedonia. It’s just another warning sign that the disease has not been fully contained yet and can keep spreading if we don’t step up efforts to control it,” said Ren Wang, FAO Assistant Director-General, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department.

FAO urges governments across the regions at risk of lumpy skin disease to carry out vaccination campaigns, especially ahead of bug season, which usually starts in March, when infection rates are highest to prevent, control and eliminate the disease.

Preventive vaccination in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and northern Serbia, for example, would create a buffer zone and stop the disease from potentially spreading to neighbouring countries such as Hungary and Romania, which have been spared to date from the disease.

FAO warned that stamping out – the proactive culling of all animals on an infected farm – should be used as a last resort because stamping out can have a drastic impact on farmers’ livelihoods, particularly those of smallholders. If stamping out is considered necessary, FAO recommends for this to be used only in the case of clinically affected cattle, when the infection is confirmed by an authorized laboratory, and animals should be humanely culled and appropriately disposed of as soon as possible.

FAO has already played an important role in reshaping countries’ policies so that vaccination is used as a key measure to prevent lumpy skin disease, and to minimize stamping out.

“Despite the progress made in combatting lumpy skin disease, there are still some grey areas we need to focus on. For one, we need to understand better if lumpy skin disease can also be  transmitted from one animal to another via infected milk, for example, and if infected animals that do not show clinical signs could still spread the virus,” said Ren Wang, Assistant Director-General, FAO Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department.

“There is also a need for better regional coordination and heightened surveillance to deal more effectively with the spread of the disease,” Ren Wang said.

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Pix: Ren Wang

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Tourism can't achieve potentials without sustainability - Minister

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said that sustainability is absolutely necessary if tourism is to achieve its full potentials, which include being a catalyst for economic growth and poverty eradication, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Speaking in London, Wednesday to mark the 2017 World Tourism Day, he said, without sustainability, tourism cannot generate benefits to all stakeholders, solve serious problems such as extreme poverty, and preserve precious natural and man-made resources on which human prosperity is based.
Referring to the theme of this year's World Tourism Day, which is 'Sustainable Tourism - Tool for Development', he said Member States of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) are encouraged to make sure that their policies and actions for tourism development and management fully embrace the principles of sustainability.

''The sustainability principles refer to the environmental, economic and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and a suitable balance must be established among these three dimensions to guarantee its long-term sustainability,'' Alhaji Mohammed said.

He said that in the context of the universal 2030 Agenda for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nations General Assembly designated 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, underscoring its power to help eradicate poverty.

''Tourism was singled out in three of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of sustainable economic growth and decent employment, sustainable production and consumption, and the conservation and sustainable use of oceans (Goals 8,12 & 14).

''Today, tourism generates 10% of the world’s GDP, one in every 10 jobs, and 30% of world trade in services. It is key to many countries’ economies and livelihoods. It has evolved from an industry engaged in and patronized only by the rich and elites of the society, to an industry enjoyed by all with significant impact on the nation’s economy.

''As an invisible export, tourism creates a flow of foreign currency into the economy of a nation through public revenue which comes in the form of taxes, duties, licenses etc; business revenue derived from services provided by restaurants, hotels, transport, shops etc and from local resident revenue which come in the form of wages, salaries, rent, interests in investments. Most of these revenues especially those that accrue to the business establishments and the local residents are usually ploughed back into the economy to create additional business thereby generating grater revenues and increasing employment opportunities,'' the Minister said.

He said while Government will play its part in the development and management of tourism and in making it more sustainable, the real key to making Nigeria's tourism industry flourish lies with the industry itself and the businesses and organizations at its heart.

''Governments use a number of mechanisms to encourage greater private-sector engagement, capturing its expertise in ways that will be beneficial to the companies themselves as well as population. The private sector, on the other hand, has an opportunity to work collaboratively with government to yield unprecedented returns in both economic and human capital, and fulfilling the promise of a more equitable, productive, and prosperous global community,'' Alhaji Mohammed said.

Overall, he said, sustainable tourism requires the informed participation of all relevant stakeholders, as well as strong political leadership to ensure wide participation and consensus building.

The idea of World Tourism Day was initiated by a Nigerian, late Mr. Ignatius Amaduwa Atigbi, the then Secretary General of the Nigeria Tourism Association (NTA), now Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), and Chairman of Africa Travel Commission (ATC). It was adopted at the 22nd General Assembly of the International Union of Official Travel Organizations (IUOTO) in 1971.


The 27th of September of every year is marked as the World Tourism Day to create awareness for tourism as a tool for economic growth and promotion of international peace and understanding.

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Nigeria under-developing children, physically, mentally - UNICEF

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has lamente that Nigeria is putting her children at risk of under-development, both physically and mentally, because critical national policies are not providing an adequate foundation for their growth, reports NaijaAgroNet.
During the first years of a child’s life, UNICEF said in its latest report that the brain grows rapidly; providing good nutrition, loving care and appropriate play provide solid foundations for a child’s learning – and eventual contribution to economic and social growth.
The UNICEF report, Early Moments Matter for Every Child, outlines three policies that can give parents the time and resources needed to support their young children’s healthy development.
The recommended policies are: two years of free pre-primary education; six months of paid maternity leave; and four weeks of paid paternity leave. Nigeria currently has just three months of paid maternity leave, only one year of free pre-primary education and no paternity leave at all. Only about one in every 10 pre-primary children are enrolled in early education activities.
According to the medical journal, The Lancet, Nigeria ranks among the 10 countries with the largest number of children at risk of poor development. 
A 2016 national survey indicated that 31% of children under the age of five are moderately or severely underweight in Nigeria. Stunting as a result of malnutrition can cause irreversible physical and mental retardation. Even though exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby’s life has clearly been shown to improve physical and mental development, the same survey revealed that only 24% of Nigerian children are exclusively breastfed for six months. Paid maternity leave will help to increase the number of children exclusively breastfed.
“What we call Early Childhood Development, which includes physical and cognitive support, has a strategic place in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Mohamed Fall UNICEF Representative in Nigeria. “Investing in Early Childhood Development including services to support caregivers, quality pre-primary education and good nutrition will help to secure healthy and productive future generations in Nigeria,” he added.

As well as supporting exclusive breastfeeding, having good Early Childhood Development policies in place will help to improve the overall health and nutrition of a child, enable parents and caregivers to be more responsive to children’s needs and provide greater safety and security. It will also provide improved early learning.
With 90 per cent of a child’s brain development occurring before the age of five, early childhood experiences can have a profound impact on a child’s development can ultimately impact a country’s growth.

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Good agricultural practices according to FAO

The importance of good agricultural practices has been stressed by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), reports NaijaAgroNet.

FAO, through its Deputy Director-General, Maria Helena Semedo, at a United Nations General Assembly side event on Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR), Semedo said that good health, good productivity and good economies depend on safe and nutritious food, which underscored the importance of work done at field level to bring AMR under control.

"Progress in the fight against AMR depends on good agricultural practices. We need to promote sustainable agriculture and food systems," she said.

In addition, she said, "The use of antimicrobials in agriculture is not a substitute for insufficient hygiene and bad management practices."

She also said that "we need improved mechanisms for the quality assurance of pharmaceuticals because counterfeit, substandard medicines contribute to resistance. Although Codex Alimentarius develops impressive global surveillance guidance and codes of practice, there remains a staggering lack of capacity for adequate surveillance of AMR at national levels."


Semedo, therefore, urged the international community to act now to invest in the future “we want to build together.”

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Tuesday, September 26, 2017

243m Africans are hungry people

NaijaAgroNet:
A total of 243 million Africans have been classified as hungry people among the 815 million victims globally, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The United Nations (UN) disclosed this in its latest hunger and food security key numbers made available to NaijaAgroNet, which has overall number at 815 million, while Asia continent has 520 million, over 100 per cent of African quota.

Also, NaijaAgroNet gathered that in the top three continents in the hungriest people in the world included Latin America and the Caribbean with 42 million.

The global hungry population as shared in percentage, NaijaAgroNet gathered showed that Asia has 11.7 per cent; Africa has 20 per cent with eastern Africa lone scoring 33.9 per cent, while Latin America and the Caribbean got 6.6 per cent.

NaijaAgroNet further gathered this was the first time that UNICEF and WHO join FAO, IFAD and WFP in preparing The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report. This change reflects the SDG agenda's broader view on hunger and all forms of malnutrition.

The UN Decade of Action on Nutrition, established by the General Assembly, is lending focus to this effort by motivating governments to set goals and invest in measures to address the multiple dimensions of malnutrition.

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2017 has been re-geared for the SDG era and includes enhanced metrics for quantifying and assessing hunger, including two indicators on food insecurity and six indicators on nutrition.

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Merck gathers African, Asian countries for healthcare capacity

Merck Foundation, a non-profit company and a subsidiary of Merck KGaA Germany, is gathering African and Asian countries together to contribute towards building healthcare capacity for the continent, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The foundation, would use the occasion to conduct the Fourth edition of their annual ‘Merck Africa Asia Luminary’ on the 24th and 25th of October 2018 in partnership with relevant government institutions such as the Ministry of High Education and scientific research of Egypt, Africa Fertility Society and the International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS).

‘Merck more than a Mother’ to be launched by Vice President of Tanzania and First Ladies of Central African Republic, Gambia, Chad, Niger and Republic of Guinea with the aim to empower infertile women in their countries.

Prof. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, chairman of the Executive Board and Family Board of E-Merck KG, said, over 450 African healthcare providers, policy makers and researchers from Africa and Asia to benefit from several educational and social development sessions.

After the success of Merck Africa Luminary in Germany, Kenya and Cote D’Ivoire, Merck Foundation (www.Merck-Foundation.com), a non-profit company and a subsidiary of Merck KGaA Germany, to conduct the Fourth edition of their annual ‘Merck Africa Asia Luminary’ on the 24th and 25th of October 2018, in partnership with Egypt’s Ministry of High Education and Scientific Research, Africa Fertility Society and the International Federation of Fertility Societies- IFFS.


“Merck is a value driven company and that is one of the reasons why Merck through its foundation is committed to support the social and economic development of Africa, Asia and developing countries by building healthcare capacity and improving access to innovative and equitable healthcare in the continent,” he said.

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Semedo canvasses more investments, surveillance to curb misuse of antimicrobials

The Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Maria Helena Semedo, has said that a stronger global effort, including larger investments and improved surveillance measures, is required to ensure that antimicrobials are used responsibly and in ways that do not threaten public health and food production, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Speaking at a United Nations General Assembly side event on Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR), Semedo said that good health, good productivity and good economies depend on safe and nutritious food.

“Prudent use of antimicrobials in public health and agriculture is essential to achieve this," she said, stressing that globally there is a need for surveillance on antimicrobial use and the spread of AMR; not only through hospitals, but throughout the food chain, including horticulture and the environment for more comprehensive risk assessments.

She said, the world needs to stave off the risk of having less efficient medicines to treat deadly infections due to the fact that more bacteria are becoming immune to antimicrobials.

“But this challenge posed by AMR is also "an opportunity to unite health, agriculture and environmental concerns in collaborative global action," Semedo said and cited FAO's experience in Cambodia.

Further, she said, one and one-half years ago in Cambodia, there was little awareness of AMR in agriculture.

“There was little surveillance and few links with human health officials. By strengthening collaboration between health and agriculture ministries; helping draft rules to regulate the sale of veterinary medicines; and assisting animal health labs - we helped increase awareness and greater cooperation in dealing with AMR," she said.

Semedo noted how Cambodia is now sharing its experience with neighbouring countries and how FAO has experienced similar successes in Ghana, Kenya, Thailand, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Latin America and Central Asia.

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Friday, September 22, 2017

Nigerian media tasked on family planning uptake

The Associate Director, Family Planning and Reproductive Health at Pathfinder Nigeria, Dr. Habeeb Salami, has urged Nigerian media to ensure family planning uptake in the country, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Salami in his opening remarks at a one-day media parley on the 2017 fourth round survey of Performance, Monitoring and Accountability (PMA2020) as part of the Lagos Family Planning (FP) Advocacy Working group (PHSAI), and supported by Pathfinder International, said the objective of the session was to engage the media and provide participants with relevant information with regards to latest survey results.

This, he said, would avail media to better package their reportages toward advocating for improved family planning.

As said by him, the session would also encourage media to link the data from Performance, Monitoring and Accountability (PMA2020) to family planning with the anticipated outcome of reducing Maternal Mortality (MM).

He pointed out on the need to draw attention to poor understanding and the role of family planning in reducing maternal mortality.

Dr. Salami reiterated the call on the media to do everything possible professionally to make certain Nigeria continue to see increase in better family planning.

NaijaAgroNet notes that PMA2020 and media parley also had supports from the Federal Ministry of Health, National Population Commission, National Bureau of Statistics, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health (Johns Hopkins University) and was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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Thursday, September 21, 2017

Food technologists develop tools to prevent loss, waste

Food technologists at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have developed tools and methodologies for identifying losses, their causes and potential solutions along the entire food value chain, from production, storage and processing to distribution and consumption, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Obviously reacting to the latest United Nations disclosure that some 815 million hungry people are in the world, the majority lives in rural areas of developing countries and are family farmers, pastoralists or fishers, these experts cited South-East Asia, for example, noting that fruit and vegetable producers found that around 20 per cent of tomatoes were damaged during transportation because of the way they were packed in bulk.

According to DG, FAO, Mr. José Graziano da Silva, the initiatives will improve packaging practices, they said, with the participation of producers and other stakeholders, resulted in an impressive 90 per cent reduction of these losses.

NaijaAgroNet reports that in 2013, FAO launched a global initiative on food loss and waste called Save Food.

The platform, NaijaAgroNet gathered, includes a network of over 500 partners from international organizations, the private sector, civil society and others with the objective of promoting awareness and the exchange of ideas and best practices on preventing food waste and loss.


FAO also said, it has produced data and information so that decision-makers could better understand where and how food losses and waste occur, and the agency is working with partners to measure the impact of food loss and waste reductions on food security and nutrition.

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Africa ranks second in global hungry people with 243m victims

The African continent has been ranked second in the number of hungry people in the world which the United Nations (UN) said was 815 million, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The UN in its latest hunger and food security key numbers made available to NaijaAgroNet, which has overall number at 815 million, saw Asia continent with 520 million, over 100 per cent of African quota.

Also, NaijaAgroNet gathered that in the top three continents in the hungriest people in the world included Latin America and the Caribbean with 42 million.

The global hungry population as shared in percentage, NaijaAgroNet gathered showed that Asia has 11.7 per cent; Africa has 20 per cent with eastern Africa lone scoring 33.9 per cent, while Latin America and the Caribbean got 6.6 per cent.

NaijaAgroNet further gathered this was the first time that UNICEF and WHO join FAO, IFAD and WFP in preparing The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report. This change reflects the SDG agenda's broader view on hunger and all forms of malnutrition.

The UN Decade of Action on Nutrition, established by the General Assembly, is lending focus to this effort by motivating governments to set goals and invest in measures to address the multiple dimensions of malnutrition.

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2017 has been re-geared for the SDG era and includes enhanced metrics for quantifying and assessing hunger, including two indicators on food insecurity and six indicators on nutrition.

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Expert decries more women paying for family planning services in Lagos

Reproductive health expert has decried the rising charges on women seeking family planning in Lagos State, and called for more funding to health sector to help cushion the effect, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The co-Principal Investigator for the Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 (PMA2020), Dr. Funmi OlaOlorun, expressed her displeasure in Lagos, over the charges on women in need of family planning services, saying this has been on the rise as more women get involved.

Lagos, which has about 112 service delivery points, she said, change fees on family planning, with the points estimated at 65 public and 47 private facilities, which represents 26.2 and 10.6 per cents respectively in public and private clinics.

Family planning indicators, she said, must cut across, calling upon government and all well-meaning investors, to allocate more funds on consumables and logistics to ensure improved impact on family planning programmes, and reduce the charges even though its prevalent in both public and private clinical facilities.

Dr. Olaolorun while sharing the scorecard on the per cent of public and private clinical facilities alongside the offering and current in and out of stock by methods survey in Lagos, told NaijaAgroNet that government could also offer vouchers to the poorest women by using an equity approach and graded billing system.

Other Family Planning Indicators, she pointed out to include access, equity, quality and choice, just as out of the seven states sampled, consisting of 302 Enumeration Areas (EA), Lagos State had 52.

The programme, NaijaAgroNet recalls was supported by the Federal Ministry of Health, National Population Commission, National Bureau of Statistics, Lagos State Ministry of Health , Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health (Johns Hopkins University) as well as Pathfinder International and was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Zero tolerance for food loss, waste makes economic sense

The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Mr. José Graziano da Silva has joined calls for a renewed global commitment to zero tolerance for food loss and waste makes economic sense, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Graziano da Silva, made this call at a sideline event at the ongoing 72nd session of the UN General Assembly with focus on tackling food loss and waste as a pathway to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger, declaring that "Zero tolerance for food loss and waste makes economic sense.”

He buttressed his point, with recent report that every $1 invested in food loss and food waste policies brings $14 in return, Graziano da Silva stressed that "Investing in measures to prevent food loss and food waste also means making investments in pro-poor policies as it promotes sustainable food systems for a zero hunger world."

Noting that one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally each year. This loss and waste occurs throughout the supply chain, from farm to fork. Beyond food, it represents a waste of labour, water, energy, land and other inputs. If food loss and waste were a country, it would rank as the third highest national emitter of greenhouse gases.

Graziano da Silva joined Gilbert Houngbo, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment of the United Arab Emirates, Josefa Correia Sacko, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union as well as representatives of the governments of Germany, the Netherlands and Angola in calling for greater cooperation by governments, business, development partners, farmers groups and others to address the problem.

Of the 815 million hungry people in the world, the majority lives in rural areas of developing countries and are family farmers, pastoralists or fishers. They have poor access to modern means of preventing food losses and waste, and often local food systems are subject to gaps in post-harvest handling, transportation, processing and refrigeration.


By reducing loss and waste along the food value chain, healthy food systems can contribute to promoting climate adaptation and mitigation, preserving natural resources, and reinforcing rural livelihoods.

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More children at risk as 815m people officially hungry globally

An estimated 815 million globally are hungry, thus risking millions of children at risk from malnutrition, says the United Nations latest findings, reports NaijaAgroNet.

According to UN, after steadily declining for over a decade, global hunger is on the rise again, affecting some 815 million people in 2016, or 11 per cent of the global population, says a new edition of the annual United Nations report on world food security and nutrition made available to NaijaAgroNet.

This is coming as UN said that at the same time, multiple forms of malnutrition are threatening the health of millions worldwide.

The increase - 38 million more people than the previous year - is largely due to the proliferation of violent conflicts and climate-related shocks, according to The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2017.

Some 155 million children aged under five are stunted (too short for their age), the report says, while 52 million suffer from wasting, meaning their weight is too low for their height. An estimated 41 million children are now overweight. Anaemia among women and adult obesity are also cause for concern. These trends are a consequence not only of conflict and climate change but also of sweeping changes in dietary habits as well as economic slowdowns.

The report is the first UN global assessment on food security and nutrition to be released following the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030 as a top international policy priority.

It singles out conflict - increasingly compounded by climate change - as one of the key drivers behind the resurgence of hunger and many forms of malnutrition.

"Over the past decade, conflicts have risen dramatically in number and become more complex and intractable in nature," the heads of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) said in their joint foreword to the report. They stressed that some of the highest proportions of food-insecure and malnourished children in the world are now concentrated in conflict zones.

"This has set off alarm bells we cannot afford to ignore: we will not end hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030 unless we address all the factors that undermine food security and nutrition. Securing peaceful and inclusive societies is a necessary condition to that end," they said.

Famine struck in parts of South Sudan for several months in early 2017, and there is a high risk that it could reoccur there as well as appear in other conflict-affected places, namely northeast Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen, they noted.

But even in regions that are more peaceful droughts or floods linked in part to the El Niño weather phenomenon, as well as the global economic slowdown, have also seen food security and nutrition deteriorate, they added. 


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Tuesday, September 19, 2017

PMA2020: Olaolorun recommends more training for Nigerian family planning care providers

The co-Principal Investigator for the Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020, DrFunmi OlaOlorun has recommend more training support for the private health care providers in the provision of family planning in Nigeria, and particularly in Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of the country, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Speaking to  NaijaAgroNet during a media parley on the fourth round survey of Performance, Monitoring and Accountability 2017 in Lagos, Dr. Olaolorun said that support for more training for private healthcare providers will improve the provision of injectables, implants among others for the purpose of effective family planning for the country.

According to her, support increases supply of Long Acting Methods (LAM), greater choice and avails provides training and retraining opportunities in order to be up-standing to their call of duty.

Dr. OlaOlorun who doubles as a Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant at College of Medicine, University of Ibadan - ‎College of Medicine, University of Ibadan disclosed that the latest survey under PMA2020, witnessed in Lagos, more women obtaining method of choice and would return to providers in the nearest future, with likelihood of referring a friend.

She stressed that the survey noted increase in the use of long acting methods, especially implants, just as stockouts persist, especially in the private hospitals and clinics.

The PMA2017 cum Lagos-round four survey, she noted was conducted by the Centre for Research, Evaluation Resources and Development (CRERD) and Bayero University Kano (BUK).

The project, she said, was collected data from Anambra, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Nasarawa, Rivers and Taraba States.

With support from the Federal Ministry of Health, National Population Commission, National Bureau of Statistics, Lagos State Ministry of Health , Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health (Johns Hopkins University) and was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in addition to partnership with Pathfinder International.

The purpose of the survey, Dr. Olaolorun said, was to monitor family planning progress with a set of core indicators and was conducted between April and May this year.

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Climate Change, challenge for our generation – UN Deputy SecGen

The Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, has said that climate change is the utmost challenge for this generation, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Speaking at on Monday during the 9th Annual New York City Climate Week, Mrs. Mohammed, reiterating that climate change is a challenge “for our generation.”

She noted that the destruction wrought by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma and the massive floods in India, Nepal and across South Asia reflect the growing vulnerability of people and economies to the growing intensity and frequency of extreme weather events.

“You know the challenge and you know the answer lies with you. I commend your efforts,” she said, adding that as the Secretary-General said in May, the sustainability train is moving.

“And you are providing the fuel – not the dirty fuel of the past, but the clean power of the future. The engine is no longer huffing and puffing smoke.  But it is not moving fast enough,” she said.

She lamented not everyone is on board yet, Mohammed canvassed for raising of ambition.
“We are ready to work with you, engage with you and support your efforts,” she said.

Further, she said,  the Paris Agreement was a monumental achievement, but agreements are just pieces of paper if those who need to implement them don’t follow through.


“You have the power to define the pace and extent of implementation. Your commitment to a low-carbon, resilient future is making a difference,” she declared.

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Monday, September 18, 2017

Gender access disparity widens in Africa

Gender access disparity widens in Africa: GenderICT@ITRealms : Internet access has continued to widen on the continent of Africa despite efforts to bridge the gap between all ge...

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Drop in prices, ends 3 months decline - FOA

The slight decline in the FAO Food Price Index by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in August 2017, has ended three months of consecutive increases, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Despite this, NaijaAgroNet reports that the Index, a trade-weighted index tracking international market prices for five key commodity groups remained 6 per cent above its value a year earlier.

NaijaAgroNet also reports that along with cereals, the FAO Meat Price Index dropped 1.2 per cent in the month, while the FAO Sugar Price Index slipped by 1.7 per cent was driven by favourable cane harvest prospects in leading producers Brazil, Thailand and India, as well as by weaker international demand in the wake of higher tariffs imposed by China and India.

But the FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index rose 2.5 percent, led by rising quotations for palm, soy, rapeseed and sunflower oils. And the FAO Dairy Price Index also rose 1.4 percent from July, led by greater demand for butterfat in Europe and North America.


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Pix: FAO Director-General da-Silva

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Maternal death: Zambian Minister decries death of journalist, Sithe Zulu, triggers review

The Zambian Minister of Health, Dr Chitalu Chilufya, has decried the rate of maternal death recorded at Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital on the 10th of September 2017, following the demise of a journalist with Zambia Daily Mail, Sithembile Siwawa-Zulu, reports NaijaAgroNet.

In a press statement made available to NaijaAgroNet, the Head Communications and External Relations at the Ministry, Stanslous Ngosa, quoted Dr Chilufya as expressing profound shock by this turn of events, declaring that “even one maternal death is too many.”

The Minister also ordered for a thorough maternal death case review, as well as a postmortem to determine the precise cause of death.

“All procedures should be done on the deceased and scrutinised to ascertain the possible events that could have led to her death,” Dr Chilufya said.

According to the MoH Spokesperson Dr Maximilian Bweupe, the deceased, Sithe was 29 years old, in her 2nd pregnancy when she underwent a caesarian section due to fetal distress on the 8th September 2017.

“Fetal distress is when the fetus does not receive adequate amounts of oxygen during pregnancy or labour. It is oftentimes detected through an abnormal fetal heart rate,” Dr. Bweupe explained.

As said by Bweupe, the deceased became breathless after taking a bath on Sunday morning, after, which the condition rapidly deteriorated before she passed on despite efforts to resuscitate her.

“Meanwhile, the Minister has offered utmost condolences to the bereaved family, friends, and the media fraternity. May her soul rest in eternal peace,” Bweupe prayed.

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