Ghana to observe 2019 International School Meals Day with national campaign - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

The International School Meals Day on 14th March is a unique global campaign with the aim of raising awareness of good nutrition for all children regardless of their circumstances, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Since its launch in 2013, it has brought together teachers and students, policy makers, school cooks, chefs, food and nutrition professionals, schools and communities, charities, businesses and health professionals from around the world to talk about the importance of school meals and its impact on wellbeing and education.

The theme for 2019 is ‘Who makes my meal?’, encouraging young people to think about their favourite food; where it comes from and who provides it.

As ever, we’re looking forward to bringing together children and communities across Ghana sharing their experiences, stories and news.

Ghana for the first time will observe the day with a national campaign across schools in the country and a school feeding program at the Ashiedu Keteke School in Agbogbloshie.

The campaign will see schools share pictures of the foods they eat during lunch and the cooks or caterers who prepare them. Some selected international schools will fundraise to support the production of a national school meals recipes guide and the building of ten school kitchens for vulnerable schools across the country.

The School Feeding program on the day will have members of Chef with Purpose and partners cooking lunch and sharing to lower primary school children in Ashiedu Keteke district.

On 22nd March, 2019, there would be a forum to climax the celebration and reward schools and partners that participated in ensuring the success of the 2019 International School Meals Day. The funds raised will be used to designing a national schools meal recipe guide for schools and also build ten school kitchens across the country.

The 2019 International School Meals Day is organized by Food for All Africa in partnership with Chefs With Purpose,Ghana Education Service and the Department of social welfare.

Isaac Oyimah/Editor

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U.S, NGOs call for concerted action on marine wildlife conservation - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

 

In commemoration of 2019 World Wildlife Day, the United States Consulate General in Lagos on Tuesday held a program in collaboration with the International Climate Change Development Initiative (ICCDI) and Wildlife of Africa Conservation Initiative, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Delivering remarks at the event attended by leading environmental conservation activists, Public Affairs Officer of the U.S. Consulate General Lagos, Mr. Russell Brooks, urged Nigerians to treat the conservation of the oceans and aquatic wildlife as an individual responsibility, in order to preserve marine habitats for future generations.

Brooks, speaking on the theme of Life below Water, observed that as much as 40% of the world’s oceans are negatively affected by human activity, including overexploitation of marine species, loss of coastal habitats and pollution. He highlighted the crucial importance of the oceans and marine species to human development and emphasized the necessity for increased conservation education.

“Marine wildlife has sustained human civilization and development for over a thousand years, from providing food and nourishment, to providing material for handicrafts and construction. We cannot take their survival for granted.   We can reduce some of the negative effects of our activity on life under the water, by working hard to spread the message to reduce marine pollution.” Brooks said.

Delivering welcoming remarks earlier, the Communications Director at ICCDI, Mr. Abiodun Adekoya, noted that effective climate change mitigation in the country would require concerted action by governments and individuals, with an emphasis on conservation education, recycling programs and the creation of a legal framework for the nation’s policy on the environment.

World Wildlife Day is observed annually on March 3, following a proclamation by the United Nations General Assembly on 20 December 2013.

Isaac Oyimah/Editor

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2019 Elections: WANEP sensitizes stakeholders on farmers manifesto - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

Ahead of the 2019 General elections in Nigeria, the West Africa Network for Peace Building (WANEP) has urged relevant stakeholders in the  socio-economic and political sphere of the country to mainstream agricultural sector as a means of addressing the emerging security challenges and agitations for sustainable development.

This was contained in a report made available on Wednesday by the Programme Manager, Conflict Prevention/Early Warning, WANEP, Ms. Osariemen Amas-Edobor, as the outcome of the sensitisation workshop on Farmers Manifesto conducted between 29-31, January 2019, in Bauchi State with the support of OXFAM.

A total of 312 participants: 117 female and 173 male (including 17 Political Party Aspirants) were represented at both the sensitization workshop on the Farmers Manifesto to Small Scale Farmers (SSFs) and Engagement with Political Parties in Bauchi State.

Edobor noted that it has been recognized that enhanced agricultural performance in the country is key to growth and poverty reduction through its direct impact on increasing job opportunities, especially for women and youth; food security and improved nutrition.

According to her, SSFs in Nigeria make up the greater number of the country’s workforce population and produce over 80 percent of the food consumed in the country. 

She stated: "The Nigerian agricultural sector is second largest contributor (about 24%) to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Nonetheless, these farmers appear to be the poorest constituency in Nigeria. As shown by statistics, smallholder farmers constitute over 75% of the electorates, thus making the constituency the largest voting population in Nigeria, so therefore it becomes imperative for the specific needs of smallholder farmers to be of priority to Policy makers. 

"It is in recognition of the challenges faced by SSFs in Nigeria that Small Holder Farmers Groups (SHFGs) now rises to organize and link up with relevant national platforms with a view to enhancing their voice and increasing their capacity to influence policies in and out of the agricultural sector resulting to the development of a MANIFESTO."

Edobor explained that Farmers’ MANIFESTO is a documentation of the specific needs of Nigerian farmers as a basis for a bargain between farmers and political office seekers, prior and after elections.

 In view of this, she said, WANEP-Nigeria with support from OXFAM conducted several activities in Bauchi State including; Advocacy/Courtesy visits to Traditional Rulers, Federal/State Ministry of Agriculture and the Private Sector; Sensitization workshop with SSF and Political Party aspirants in the State. 

With the aim to finding lasting solution to the challenges affecting the smooth operation of the local farmers, she said the Non-Governmental Organisation has expressed its readiness to boost production capacity of Small Scale Farmers in Bauchi State for food security in the country.

Isaac Oyimah/Editor

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RUFORUM aligns self to Agenda 2063 - NaijaAgroNet.

NaijaAgroNet:

The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), has declare support for the continent's 2063 agenda, reports NaijaAgroNet.

RUFORUM, NaijaAgroNet gathered, was established in 2004 as a consortium of 46 African universities operating within 22 countries, spanning the African continent. 

Also, RUFORUM identified Science and Education Ministers from many African countries, over 85 Vice Chancellors from universities across Africa, as well as key scientists from across the World came together for the Sixth African Higher Education Week and the RUFORUM Biennial Conference. The conference was held from 22-26 October 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya.  

The main topic of discussion was: “Aligning African Universities to accelerate attainment of Africa’s Agenda 2063”. The meetings were hosted by the Kenyan Ministry of Education and 12 RUFORUM member universities in Kenya. 

Suchith Anand (GODAN) was invited to give a keynote speech on the topic of  “Harnessing the Digital Potential to Drive Higher Education Transformation in Africa”. GODAN looks forward to building more collaborations and synergies in capacity development with RUFORUM universities.

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GROHE drives digital transformation in sanitary sector - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

From Germany GROHE the year 2018 was all about strategic partnerships and the digitization of water, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Michael Rauterkus, CEO of GROHE AG, noted that at the 2019 ISH, for the first time GROHE would present itself as one of the leading global brands for complete bathroom solutions, kitchen systems and intelligent water management.

GROHE, a leading global brand for kitchen faucets solutions, NaijaAgroNet reports, has continued on its road to success in 2019, considering evolvement from a mere hardware manufacturer into a driving force of the digital transformation within the sanitary industry, offering its own Internet of Things (IoT) products. 

"The intelligent water control system GROHE Sense Guard has now arrived in the world of smart homes," he said.

As said by Rauterkus, all GROHE products, innovations and activities are based on claim to be actively involved in handling water with a view to the future,

“It's about finding answers to the most pressing issues of our time. At this year's ISH, our big topic will be about which solutions we as GROHE can contribute in all areas of water management,” he said.

Equally, NaijaAgroNet gathered that strategic alliances with insurance companies such as Provinzial Rheinland or Gothaer Allgemeine in Europe and Munich Re's subsidiary, the HSB Group, in the US have opened up new sales channels for GROHE in 2018. 

Additionally, NaijaAgroNet reports that GROHE Sense water sensor could now be connected to Magenta SmartHome from Deutsche Telekom and GROHE Sense Guard to Nest home appliances. 

"Thanks to the partnership with IoT expert relayr, it will be even more flexible and faster to connect the intelligent water security system to other IT ecosystems and platforms. Further strategic alliances will follow in 2019," he said.

Isaac Oyimah/Editor

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Family Planning: Expert laments Nigerians reluctance to long active methods - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

Family planning expert and a Co-Principal Investigator PMA2020 Nigeria, Dr. Funmilola OlaOlorun of Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, has lamented Nigerians’ reluctance to the use of Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARC), reports NaijaAgroNet.

Speaking at the round 5 of the Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 (PMA2020) survey presentation at a media briefing held recently in Lagos, by Pathfinders International, Dr. OlaOlorun also expressed dismay that many Nigerians are still very reluctant to the use of Long Active methods.

She equally told NaijaAgroNet the survey was facilitated by Johns Hopkins University and Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health.

Dr. OlaOlorun explained that the Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARC), are methods of birth control that provides effective contraception for an extended period without requiring user action.

Also, she said, LARC comprises injections, Intra-Uterine Devices (IUDs) and Subdermal-contraceptive implants to name a few.

“One in five women still have unintended pregnancy. People are still reluctant to use long active methods,” OlaOlorun said.

On Long Acting cum permanent methods among married women, she said, Lagos recorded 6.1 per cent in 2018, a slight drop from 6.3 in 2017

She urged for more participation and usage of long acting contraceptive methods will reduce frequency to health care centres.

The PMA2020 Lagos-R5 survey, she said, was conducted by the Centre for Research, Evaluation Resources and Development (CRERD) and Bayero University Kano (BUK), whereas the project also collected data from Anambra, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Nasarawa, Rivers and Taraba States.

She stressed that the survey equally had support from the Federal Ministry of Health, National Population Commission (NPC), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Lagos State Ministry of Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health (Johns Hopkins University).

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Rwandan choreographer, Sherrie Silver named IFAD advocate for rural youth - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) annual meeting of Member States, award-winning choreographer, dancer and actress Sherrie Silver issued an urgent call-to-action to heads-of-state, government ministers, and development leaders to listen and invest in rural youth, reports NaijaAgroNet.

“I am inviting you to come together and stand on the right side of history by investing more in young rural people, and the communities where they live,” Silver said just after being announced as the UN specialized agency’s Advocate for Rural Youth.

“It is with great delight that we welcome Sherrie Silver as our new Advocate for Rural Youth,” said Charlotte Salford, Associate Vice-President of External Relations and Governance Department at IFAD. “Dance and music are great unifiers. They help young people to express themselves and unites groups of people across cultures and countries.”

The appointment makes the 24-year-old IFAD's first-ever Advocate for Rural Youth.

Silver’s message kicked-off the 'Our Future is Here' youth-led movement that aims to capture the energy and creativity of young people to raise awareness on the importance of investing in agriculture at a time when world hunger is on the rise, driven by conflict and climate change.

Hunger, poverty, youth unemployment and forced migration all have deep roots in rural areas, however there remains a wide funding gap. To eliminate hunger it is estimated an annual investment of US$180 billion is needed for rural areas. Of this, two-thirds is required for agriculture alone.

“Imagine what would happen if governments and donors around the world spent as much on agriculture and rural people as they do on humanitarian aid,” she said. “There would be food security. There would be social stability. There would be less damage to the environment. There would be hope for our future.”

Born in Rwanda and educated in the United Kingdom, Silver was made world-famous by her choreography work in Childish Gambino’s culturally seismic video “This Is America,” which won the 'Best Choreography' category at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards and most recently at the 2019 Grammy Awards.

A social media influencer, Silver is passionate about helping young people thrive and educating the world about African cultures through the dance, while giving back to African countries through her philanthropy.

In her role as Advocate for Rural Youth, Silver will use her global platform to meet and connect with youth around the world and help campaign for the importance of reaching young people through investing in agriculture and rural communities.

More than half of the world’s youth population of 1.2 billion live in rural areas and struggle to find employment. In Africa, an estimated 11 million young people will enter the job market every year for the next decade -- the majority of them in rural areas, where agriculture is still the biggest source of livelihoods.

"Youth unemployment will be the defining challenge of this era alongside climate change, and I am committed to helping the UN as an IFAD Advocate for Rural Youth to do everything I can to provide a better future for young people everywhere," Silver said. “They need jobs and opportunities in agriculture to help feed a growing population while also building a safe and prosperous future right where they live.”

Silver added that “the only way we are going to solve complex challenges like ending extreme poverty, hunger and forced migration is by calling on governments to invest in a different way of going about development. Young people want to build a better world, but they can’t do it alone."

Prior to her appointment, Sherrie Silver visited an IFAD-supported project in southern Cameroon, where she met with young entrepreneurs from a remote farming community who have been able to earn more income and produce more food due to IFAD investments in agriculture and business training in their community.

Nenye Dom/Editor

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African OPS lead to rewrite healthcare narrative - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

A number of Organised Private Sector (OPS) on the continent has join forces to rewrite the heaalthcare narratives, reports c.

Some of these OPS include GBCHealth, Aliko Dangote Foundation and UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) collaborated on inaugural Africa Business: Health Forum 2019 which held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Thursday.

The OPS, NaijaAgroNet reports, jointly held the inaugural Africa Business: Health Forum on the margins of the 32nd African Union Summit. It brought together leaders from government and business with a strong appeal for greater collaboration between the private and the public sector on health outcomes. 

This garnered commitments from public sector leaders including the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed; the President of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi; and the President of Djibouti, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh as well as business leaders present, to change drastically health outcomes in Africa.

The Forum saw the launch of the African Business Coalition for Health (ABCHealth), a private sector led coalition of companies and philanthropists who will come together to positively transform health care for Africans growing population. Business and public sector leaders at the forum lauded this initiative as a timely game-changer to improve the health sector in Africa.

A vision of GBCHealth and the Aliko Dangote Foundation, ABCHealth will mobilise private sector champions committed to advancing health outcomes across Africa. Beyond the “usual suspects”, a reference used by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede to qualify current health champions, ABCHealth will engage a new crop of African business leaders in the drive to change the reality of the average African as far as health is concerned.

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, co-founder of ABCHealth, and co-chair, GBCHealth said, “Only partnerships will help solve the health challenges the continent faces. Healthcare in Africa is constrained by scarce public funding and limited donor support; out-of-pocket expenditure accounts for 36% of Africa’s total healthcare spend. Given our income levels, it is no surprise that healthcare spend in Africa is grossly inadequate to meet Africa’s needs leading to a financing gap of $66bn per annum.”

The private sector remains an underinvested stakeholder in the war to fix Africa’s health problems and this is why ABCHealth aims to bring the right parties to the table, and provide a focus for well-meaning individuals or companies who are committed to the health agenda, thus minimising mistakes in approach,” Aig-Imoukhuede added.

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African leaders for Nutrition to launch accountability scorecard - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

The African leaders will gather at a side event of the 32nd African Union Summit, to launch the African Leaders for Nutrition (ALN), the continental nutrition accountability scorecard, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The launch slated for Skylight Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, would hold on Monday, February 11, 2019.

NaijaAgroNet reports that the scorecare is to raise awareness and reinforce commitments by African governments to end malnutrition and promote healthy children on the continent.

Some of the confirmed the African Union high calibre members including His Majesty King Letsie III of the Kingdom of Lesotho, the African Development Bank, the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other partners, will launch the African Leaders For Nutrition (ALN) Continental Nutrition Accountability Scorecard.

The event, under the theme “A Call for Better Advocacy and Accountability for Nutrition Investments,” will be chaired by, His Majesty King Letsie III and African Development Bank President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.

The Continental Nutrition Accountability Scorecard is the latest tool produced by ALN to raise awareness and reinforce commitments by African governments to end malnutrition and promote healthy children.

This data-based advocacy tool gives an overview of how African leaders are doing on their delivery of the main nutrition indicators. It is expected that the scorecard will increasingly be used to track Africa’s effort to halt malnutrition and its effects.

Isaac Oyimah/Editor

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Group: Eliminate female genital mutilation by 2030 - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

Mary Oloiparuni was 13 when she was mutilated. Restrained in a doorway early one morning in her home, she was cut, bled profusely and experienced agonizing pain. The scarring she endured then continues to cause her pain today, 19 years later. It has made giving birth to each of her five children an excruciating and harrowing experience.

                                                                                                                                  

Mary is not alone. At least 200 million girls and women alive today have had their genitals mutilated – suffering one of the most inhuman acts of gender-based violence in the world.

On the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, we reaffirm our commitment to end this violation of human rights, so that the tens of millions of girls who are still at risk of being mutilated by 2030 do not experience the same suffering as Mary.

A joint statement available to ITREALMS by Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director, UNFPA, Henrietta H. Fore, Executive Director, UNICEF and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, UN Women, they noted that this effort is especially critical because female genital mutilation leads to long-term physical, psychological and social consequences.

"It violates women’s rights to sexual and reproductive health, physical integrity, non-discrimination and freedom from cruel or degrading treatment. It is also a violation of medical ethics: Female genital mutilation is never safe, no matter who carries it out or how clean the venue is," they decried.

Because female genital mutilation is a form of gender-based violence, we cannot address it in isolation from other forms of violence against women and girls, or other harmful practices such as early and forced marriages. To end female genital mutilation, we have to tackle the root causes of gender inequality and work for women’s social and economic empowerment.

In 2015, world leaders overwhelmingly backed the elimination of female genital mutilation as one of the targets in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This is an achievable goal, and we must act now to translate that political commitment into action.

At the national level, we need new policies and legislation protecting the rights of girls and women to live free from violence and discrimination. Governments in countries where female genital mutilation is prevalent should also develop national action plans to end the practice. To be effective, their plans must include budget lines dedicated to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health, education, social welfare and legal services.

At the regional level, we need institutions and economic communities to work together, preventing the movement of girls and women across borders when the purpose is to get them into countries with less restrictive female genital mutilation laws.

Locally, we need religious leaders to strike down myths that female genital mutilation has a basis in religion. Because societal pressures often drive the practice, individuals and families need more information about the benefits of abandoning it.

Public pledges to abandon female genital mutilation – particularly pledges by entire communities – are an effective model of collective commitment. But public pledges must be paired with comprehensive strategies for challenging the social norms, practices and behaviours that condone female genital mutilation. Testimonials by survivors like Mary also help to build understanding of the practice’s grim reality and long-lasting impact on women’s lives. Advocacy campaigns and social media can amplify the message that ending female genital mutilation saves and improves lives.

Thanks to the collective action of governments, civil society, communities and individuals, female genital mutilation is in decline. But we are not aiming for fewer cases of this practice. We are insisting on zero.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that the recent Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS 2016 -2017) shows some decline in the incidence of FGM in Nigeria, 18.4% of women aged 15-49 years now undergo FGM; a decrease from 27% in 2011.  UNICEF and partners’ interventions to ensure the elimination of FGM by 2030 has resulted in a break in the barrier against discussing FGM publicly. Religious leaders, community stakeholders and young people now speak out against this practice. 

Subsequently, last year, more than 309 communities publicly declared abandonment of the practice.

“Despite this decline, millions of girls and women are still faced with the scourge of genital mutilation every year in Nigeria. There is, therefore, an urgent need for decision makers and political leaders to take concrete action towards ending the harmful practice of FGM in Nigeria”, said Mohamed Fall, UNICEF Country representative.

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