15 choice wines, spirits for grab @Yudala nationwi...

15 choice wines, spirits for grab @Yudala nationwi...: Leading composite e-commerce outfit in Nigeria, Yudala , has launched 15 choice wines and spirits in its stores nationwide ...

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Queen Elizabeth honours Amoo-Addo on innovative foodbank project

NaijaAgroNet:

Founder of West Africa’s first food recovery bank, Chef Elijah Amoo Addo, has been honoured with the prestigious Queens Young Leaders Award by Queen Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace, England, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Expressing appreciation after receiving the award to the Royal Commonwealth society, Queens Jubilee Trust, University of Cambridge and Comic relief for recognizing Food for All Africa Programme’s effort in creating efficiency and sustainable means of nutrition for vulnerable communities across Ghana and the continent, Amoo Addo, reiterated his organization’s effort in the drafting and passage of the National Food Donor’s Encouragement Bill in Ghana which will institutionalize food donations in order to support vulnerable in society.

Chef Addo went on to commend and dedicate the award to individuals and organizations  such as  Kwatsons West Africa Ltd, MaxMart Family Shopping centre, Food and Beverage Association,Belaqua,Blowgroup,Finatrade,Sucatrade and Meriems kitchen for their continuous support towards  Food for All.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that the Queen’s Young Leader Award recognises and celebrates exceptional people aged 18-29 from across the Commonwealth, who are taking the lead in their communities and using their skills to transform lives.

Winners of this prestigious Award will receive a unique package of training, mentoring and networking, including a one-week residential programme in the UK during which they will collect their Award from Her Majesty The Queen. With this support, Award winners will be expected to continue and develop the amazing work they are already doing in their communities.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE 

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Abuja hosts fifth policy dialogue on SDGs

NaijaAgroNet:

The fifth High Level Policy Dialogue on development planning begins in Abuja tomorrow with the theme ‘Mainstreaming the Sustainable Development Goals into National Development Plans’ reports NaijaAgroNet.

This three-day meeting, NaijaAgroNet reports, follows the endorsement of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development by African countries who are trying to domesticate the process, thus offering them an opportunity to align national visions and development strategies to the global SDGs.

The dialogue, NaijaAgroNet gathered gives participants an opportunity to discuss key issues for Africa’s transformation, sustainable development priorities and aspirations, in the light of the continent’s commitments to the SDGs as they continue to mainstream and domesticate the SDGs into national planning processes.

Top Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Nigerian government officials and other guests would be in attendance.

The High Level Policy Dialogue, NaijaAgroNet reports commences Wednesday, June 28, 2017 and would last till Friday, June 30, this year.

NaijaAgroNet further reports that Africa’s top policymakers will attend the meeting being hosted by ECA and the Nigerian Government. 

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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Extreme drought hits Sri Lanka

NaijaAgroNet:

Extreme drought has reported hit Sri Lanka following heavy rainfalls with large swaths of cropping areas, threatening the food security of some 900,000 people, NaijaAgroNet reports.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), while confirming this to NaijaAgroNet, saying that the joint Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission, showed that drought conditions in 2016 and early 2017 led to widespread crop failures, in particular for rice paddy - the country's staple food.

This NaijaAgroNet reported has resulted in a Total paddy production in 2017 worth forecast at 2.7 million tonnes, almost 40 per cent less than the last year's output and 35 percent lower than the average of the previous five years.

Other crops, including various pulses, chillies and onion, which rely mainly on rainwater, were also heavily damaged by the dry weather.

The situation was exacerbated by subsequent heavy rainfalls in May. Floods and landslides in the south-western parts of the country caused deaths, large population displacements and damage to infrastructure. The rains did not ease the water supply constraints in the drought-impacted north-central and eastern parts of the country.

Now, nearly 225,000 households (or about 900,000 people) face food insecurity. The most vulnerable groups are struggling to earn an income after losing their own crops and have fewer employment opportunities. In ten districts, a previous joint assessment showed that about one third of the drought-affected population had its regular income reduced by more than half, compared to the income generated from the 2015-2016 Maha season.

The situation may further deteriorate if the next cropping season fails. Due to a critical shortage of seeds and a lack of water for irrigation, the second 2017 paddy harvest - known as Yala, due to be harvested in August and September - is forecast at 1.2 million tonnes, 24 percent below last year's level.

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Backlash: Atiku goes to farm on Rolex watch, agbad...

Backlash: Atiku goes to farm on Rolex watch, agbad...: ITRealms : For attempted farming on Twitter, the former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is now at the receiving end fo...

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Kabarak partners General Electric on healthcare, provide 500-beds

NaijaAgroNet:

Nairobi-based Kabarak University Teaching Research and Referral Mission Hospital is partnering with General Electric (GE) Healthcare to develop a 500-bed, state-of-the-art, multi-disciplinary tertiary hospital to be located in Kabarak, Nakuru County, reports NaijaAgroNet.

GE Healthcare, NaijaAgroNet gathered would be the technology provider for the proposed Kabarak University Teaching Research & Referral Mission Hospital.

In addition, the project scope will comprise of a 250 bed Kabarak University Hospital Nairobi and modernization of 23 mission of hospitals under Christian Health Association of Kenya (CHAK).

The $450-Million medical campus, NaijaAgroNet reports is expected to commence operations in 2020.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that Kabarak University Teaching Research and Referral Mission Hospital’s mission is to build an economically sustainable, center of excellence hospital that will deliver internationally accredited standards of care and is set to become a catalyst for strengthening healthcare services in Kenya, as well as furthering advanced research in the region.

Using the US Green Building Council’s LEED certification programme, NaijaAgroNet reports that Kabarak University will design, build, maintain, operate an environmentally sustainable, cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings, while proclaiming its motto: We Treat with God’s love.

The project which will be set on 100 hectares of land will also develop medical tourism to Kenya leveraging the specialized treatment the hospital will offer.

GEHealthcare will assist the university with infrastructure development, technology transfer, education and capacity building to support a better health system and patient outcomes. The project will be financed by US based Private Equity Sygec international among other stakeholders.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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SDGs: Civil society needs conducive environment to thrive

NaijaAgroNet:

The Lagos State Coordinator of the Civil Society Coalition on Sustainable Development (CSCSD), Dr. Adeshina Bello has called on the government at all levels to create a sustainable and conducive environment for the coalition to thrive in carrying out its mandate to the society, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Speaking at a one-day coalition Sustainable Development Conference in Lagos, held at Justice, Peace and Development Centre (JDPC), Bello noted that the environment must be conducive for the members of the coalition including private sector, social sectors, academia, mass media and other stakeholders to ensure that sustainable development  goals are maximally achieved.

“I equally call on drivers of every sector of the economy to collaborate with the government to ensure rapid development today and forever,” he said.

Bello expressed optimism on the anticipated synergy emanating from the conference so as to drive rapid and lasting development not only in Lagos State, but in Nigeria and the world at large.

He pointed out that a conference like this is an indispensable platform or the state and national development and particularly at a period like this in the history of Nigeria.

“Hence, it is very vital for every stakeholder to identify the SDGs, streamline their activities toward maximally achieving the SDGs, identifying gaps, opportunities challenges and be ready to partner with other stakeholders to achieving abundant durable development in all spheres of life,” he urged.

The coordinator further listed the 17 items in the Sustainable Development Goals to include end poverty, end hunger, ensure good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, good jobs and economic growth.

Additionally, he listed industry, innovation and infrastructure; reduced inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production;  climate change action, life below water; sustainable use of ecosystem, forest and combat desertification; access to justice for all; and revitalize global partnership.

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Ghana to play host to fertilizer, agribiz conference

NaijaAgroNet:

The city of Accra is gearing up to host the West Africa Fertilizer Agribusiness conference being organised by CRU Events and the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP) on 10-12 July at the Movenpick Hotel Accra, reports NaijaAgroNet.

CRU Events CEO Nicola Coslett, informed NaijaAgroNet that this comes at a time when the Ghanaian fertilizer and agribusiness sector is undergoing an incredible boost from the country’s new leadership, making it the perfect moment to explore the region's potential using the conference’s main themes of partnership, investment and innovation.

“The three-day conference and networking event will attract over 250 attendees and feature specialist workshops, keynote presentations, interactive panel discussions, break-out sessions and a site visit to the Nestle Tema factory,” Coslett said.

Chief Agribusiness Officer at AFAP, Pierre Brunache, said the sessions will explore critical issues such as how the cost of fertilizer for West African farmers and how supply chains of agricultural inputs can be improved, how local government and international suppliers of fertilizer can work in partnership to build strong agribusiness.

“The conference will also look into how innovation in areas of finance or communication can be used in West African agribusiness, financing tools to enable fertilizer trade and investment in the agribusiness value chain and how to encourage youth participation and support women in agribusiness,” Brunache said.

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GSK, MMV positive on single-dose tafenoquine reducing malaria risk

NaijaAgroNet:

The GSK and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) has announced positive results from two phase III studies of tafenoquine, an investigational 8-aminoquinoline, for the prevention of relapse of Plasmodium vivax (P.vivax) malaria, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The headline results, presented today at the International Conference on Plasmodium vivax Research (ICPVR) in Manaus, Brazil, show that a single-dose of 300mg tafenoquine, when given with a 3-day blood-stage chloroquine treatment, reduced the risk of relapse in patients with P.vivax malaria significantly more than placebo when given with chloroquine.

P. vivax is one of several species of Plasmodium parasite known to cause malaria. After an infected mosquito bite, the parasite has the ability to lie dormant in the liver and periodically reactivate causing relapses of P. vivax malaria. These relapses can occur weeks or even years after the initial infection. The disease is estimated to cause around 8.5 million clinical infections every year. Each of these infections keeps a child or adult from school or work for at least 3 days.² Studies have shown that beyond lost time, malaria can also have adverse effects on cognitive ability.

Since 2008, GSK and MMV have been working together to develop single-dose tafenoquine as an alternative to the existing standard of care, primaquine, which must be taken for 14 days for patients with the relapsing form of malaria. The two phase III randomised, double-blind studies, “DETECTIVE” and “GATHER”, were conducted in malaria-endemic countries covering South America, Asia, and Africa.

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World leaders unite for Polio one-step closer to eradication, raise $1.2bn

NaijaAgroNet:

World health leaders gathered at the Rotary Convention in Atlanta to reaffirm their commitment to eradicating polio and pledged US$ 1.2 billion to finance efforts to end the disease, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Thirty years ago, NaijaAgroNet recalls, polio paralyzed more than 350,000 children each year in more than 125 countries around the world. But thanks to the extraordinary efforts of governments, health workers, donors and the partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), a public-private partnership dedicated to ending the disease, the highly contagious virus has now been eliminated in all but three countries: Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan. There have been only five cases to date in 2017.

However, children remain at risk everywhere until polio is completely stopped. To end the disease for good, government representatives and partners came together to renew their commitment to supporting crucial activities such as vaccination and disease monitoring, which will protect more than 450 million children from polio each year.

“Thanks to the incredible efforts of Rotarians, governments, health workers, partners and donors –  including those who have gathered at the Rotary Convention in Atlanta – we are closer than ever to making history,” said Chris Elias, Global Development President, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Chair of the GPEI Polio Oversight Board. “These new commitments will help ensure that we will finish the job.”

In a time of many global challenges and priorities, governments and partners have stepped forward to demonstrate their collective resolve to seeing the second human disease ever eradicated. Major pledges include: US$ 75 million from Canada, US$ 61.4 million from the European Commission, US$ 55 million from Japan, US$ 30 million from Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, US$ 30 million from the Dalio Foundation, US$ 25 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies, US$ 15 million from an anonymous donor, US$ 13.4 million from Australia, US$ 11.2 million from Germany, US$ 5 million from easyJet, US$ 5 million from Italy and US$ 4 million from the Republic of Korea.

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and John Germ, president of Rotary International, also announced an extension of their partnership in front of more than 20,000 Rotarians. Up to US$ 150 million in funds raised by Rotary members over the next three years will be matched 2:1 by the Gates Foundation, resulting in up to US$ 450 million in the next three years for the GPEI. The Gates Foundation pledged a total of US$ 450 million, including this matching agreement.

“The global eradication of polio has been Rotary’s top priority since 1985. Rotary members have been the driving force behind the fight to end polio since its inception,” said John Germ, President of Rotary International. “Their continued commitment to raising funds for eradication – coupled with today’s match by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – makes that impact even greater.”

Today’s funding helps address a US$1.5 billion funding need that will help ensure that the virus is eliminated from these remaining countries and prevented from regaining a foothold anywhere else in the world.

“Constant innovation has been key to improving vaccination coverage and reaching more children with the polio vaccine,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, Acting Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The unrelenting commitment and support of these global leaders will help us do just that—and ultimately end this disease for everyone and forever. CDC remains deeply committed to polio eradication and has contributed US$ 2.28 billion since the beginning of the initiative."

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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