Experts stress impacts of drought in Africa region - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

The experts at the Foodand Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have given some insights into the impacts of drought for African continent and mostly the North East and North Africa, reports NaijaAgroNet.

According to them, agriculture is the first and worst hit sector when drought strikes, stressing that due to the impacts of drought, domestic food production has declined in the past four decades and rural populations' income dropped.

They noted that though oil supports a number of economies, agriculture is still an important part of the region's Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and essential for populations' food security.

“Droughts are costly and can severely compromise the agricultural sectors,” they declared in a latest report made available to NaijaAgroNet, and endorsed by the FAO's Assistant Director-General, Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department, Mr. Rene Castro.

Further, NaijaAgroNet gathered that the latest drought in Northern Africa, which was in 2015-2016, affected all countries and caused a significant drop in cereal production in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.

“As recently as the 1980s, 70 per cent of Mauritanians were nomads and subsistence farmers. In
the past three decades, recurrent droughts have forced many to move to cities where they suffer
due to high unemployment and a severe lack of social services,” they noted.

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Pix: FAO's Assistant Director-General, Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department, Mr. Rene Castro

IFAD says Post Offices @forefront of remittance, financial services in rural Africa

NaijaAgroNet:

The postal services can play a pivotal role in delivering remittances, lowering the transfer costs and providing access to basic financial services in Africa, says the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), reports NaijaAgroNet.

A joint report made available to NaijaAgroNet by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the European Commission (EC) on the occasion of the International Day of Family Remittances to be observed tomorrow.

The report, entitled ‘A success story on remittances at the post office in Africa,’ analyses the results achieved by African Postal Financial Services Initiative (APFSI), a joint programme led by IFAD and financed by the European Union (EU).

The programme, NaijaAgroNet gathered, has been implemented in 11 African countries in cooperation with the World Bank, the United Nations Capital Development Fund, the Universal Postal Union and the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute.

NaijaAgroNet also reports that the APFSI programme has helped post offices develop more effective business models, upgrade their computer technology and connectivity, and improve their expertise in order to process real-time payments and offer and manage financial services.

"The remittance market is changing at a rapid pace,” said Pedro De Vasconcelos, Coordinator of the Financing Facility for Remittances at IFAD, pointing out that technology is transforming the payment systems and digitalized financial services are creating new opportunities.

“In this context, postal operators play a prominent role in delivering remittances to rural migrant families, providing them with financial services they rarely had access to,” Pedro said.

According to De Vasconcelos, the strong presence of post offices in remote and rural areas is extremely valuable. Their historic footprint helps build trust in the provision of rural financial services.

In 2017 alone, African migrant workers sent over US$70 billion to their families back home, representing an increase of more than 10 per cent from 2016 and more than 36 per cent over the past decade.

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most expensive region in the world to send money home. In 2017 the average cost was 9.3 per cent of the amount sent.

As a result of the AFPSI joint programme, which has been implemented over the last five years, the cost of receiving remittances via post offices in four pilot countries, Benin, Ghana, Madagascar and Senegal,  decreased by 42 per cent and post offices delivered remittance services at an average cost of less than 5 per cent. This means an additional $35 million were available to migrant families between 2014 and 2016.

"The EU is committed to work with partners to lower the cost of remittances and promote faster, cheaper and safer transfers. Our collective objective is to reduce to less than 3 per cent the transaction costs and eliminate remittance corridors with transfer costs higher than 5 per cent, as stated in the 2030 Agenda and the European Consensus for Development," said Stefano Signore, Head of Unit in charge of Migration and Employment in the Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development at the EC.

Financial inclusion remains a challenge in Africa. According to recent estimates, only 41 per cent of the population above 15 years of age has an account and access to formal financial services. In this context, postal operators have an important role to play, especially in rural areas. As a result of the joint programme, at least 100,000 adults opened new postal accounts accessing financial services for the first time.

"Having a savings account and access to credit is fundamental for families to invest in income-generating activities and build their future," said Mauro Martini, an IFAD expert on remittances and migrants’ investments and co-author of the report. "Remittances can be an engine for development."

Estimates show that while 75 per cent of remittances are generally spent on basic needs such as food, housing, health and education, another 25 per cent can be invested in asset-building or activities that generate income and jobs and transform economies, in particular in rural areas.

The EC began collaborating with IFAD in 2004, with the intention of increasing the development impact of remittances while enabling poor households in rural areas to access financial services. Since 2005, the EC has mobilized euro 9.5 million for IFAD’s Financing Facility for Remittances, including the APFSI. A new euro 15 million programme focusing on Africa will be launched soon to reduce costs further and improve financial inclusion and impact for development.

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UN Report demands proactive shift in drought management - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:

The latest United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has called for a fundamental shift in the way drought is perceived and managed in the Near East and North Africa region, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The agency said in a new report issued today that a more pro-active approach based on the principles of risk reduction is needed to build greater resilience to droughts.

Even though drought is a familiar phenomenon in the region, over the past four decades, droughts have become more widespread, prolonged and frequent - likely due to climate change.

The region is not only highly prone to drought, but also one of the world's most water-scarce areas, with desert making up three quarters of its territory.

The FAO's Assistant Director-General, Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department, Rene Castro, was quoted as saying that the Near East and North Africa's technical, administrative, and financial capacities to deal with drought are inadequate, rendering farmers and herders - the first and worst hit when drought strikes - even more vulnerable.

Farmers and herders, UN reported, face mounting challenges as water becomes scarcer, land more degraded and eroded, and soils more fragile.

It lamented that there is still too much focus on recovering from drought rather than being less susceptible to it, with insufficient funding, preparedness, and coordination remaining significant constraints, warns the report.

"We need to perceive and manage droughts differently, and shift from emergency response to more pro-active policy and long-term planning to reduce risks and build greater resilience," Castro said, pointing out that "The report assesses gaps in current drought management and provides a solid base to help governments rethink policies and reformulate preparedness and response plans by offering solutions that take into account each country's specific context."

Launched ahead of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, the report was developed by FAO and theWater for Food Daugherty Global Institute at the University of Nebraska.

It covers 20 countries in the region - Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen.

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Ecobank supports WED 2018, says planting today'll protect tomorrow

NaijaAgroNet:

In reaffirming commitment to help save the planet by supporting World Environment Day, the Ecobank has declared that planting today is all about protecting tomorrow, and urged supports for the World Environment Day, 2018, reports NaijaAgroNet.

According to bank, through this initiative, management and staff will plant trees across all 33 countries of its pan-African footprint. In addition, garden implements will be donated to local authorities to help nurture and grow planted seedlings.

Globally, it is estimated that between 3.5 billion and 7 billion trees are cut down every year. To counter this, Ecobank’s charitable tree planting initiative, ‘Planting today. Protecting tomorrow’, illustrates the bank’s firm belief that its long-term success is intertwined with the sustainable development of the economies, societies and environment in which it operates.

Ade Ayeyemi, Group CEO of Ecobank said: “Ecobank’s presence across 36 African countries gives us many advantages but it also imposes on us a huge corporate responsibility. It is absolutely right that we demonstrate our passion for preserving the environment for future generations through our actions as opposed to just mere words.”

“As a pan-African bank we strive to give back to our communities, to society and to the environment as a core tenet of our culture. Our ‘Planting today. Protecting tomorrow’ initiative is part of our strategy to make a real difference and to ensure that we save the planet for all future generations: for everybody’s children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.”

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Greening agriculture vital for environmental protection

NaijaAgroNet:

The policies governing the agricultural sectors, the use of natural resources, protection and conservation of endangered species, habitats and biodiversity have been identified as needing some alignment for the better protection of the environment and reduce the ecological footprint of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, reports NaijaAgroNet.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) at the farm level, production practices can be implement that not only safeguard biodiversity but also ensure that food producers will be able to sustainably make use of it.

This week's event at FAO,  NaijaAgroNet gathered, will examine real-world examples of how agriculture, fisheries and forestry have been successfully managed to safeguard biodiversity.

A series of working groups involving a wide range of stakeholder will focus on different avenues for advancing biodiversity mainstreaming in agriculture, including global governance; national policies and legislation; financial incentives and investments; and supply chain measures.

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Making agriculture work for biodiversity

NaijaAgroNet:

By incorporating biodiversity as a priority in agriculture chain could yield multiple benefits, says experts at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), reports NaijaAgroNet.

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva made this call for transformative changes on how to produce food, grounded in sustainable agricultural systems capable of producing healthy and nutritious food while simultaneously safeguarding the planet's biodiversity.

"Biodiversity is essential for safeguarding global food security and nutrition, improving rural livelihoods, and enhancing the resilience of people and communities," he said in keynote remarks made at the start of a three day international dialogue (on mainstreaming biodiversity into agricultural policies and practices.

Healthy ecosystems provide a number of key services upon which humankind relies, such as water quality maintenance, nutrient cycling, soil formation and erosion control, and carbon sequestration. And healthy agricultural ecosystems provide the ecological foundations for food production, and the biodiversity of crops and livestock plays a critical role in humankind.

But today planetary biodiversity — genetic diversity at the level of organisms; diversity at the species level; and diversity ecosystem level — faces a number of threats, the FAO Director-General noted.

"The way we are producing our food is a big part of the problem", he said.

"Today, the world still produces food mainly based on the principles of the Green Revolution that started more than 50 years ago, and implies the use of high chemical inputs at a high cost for the environment," according to Graziano da Silva.

Yet he also noted that massive swaths of the Earth's surface are being used to grow food, raise animals, capture and farm fish, or produce forest products. This means that if managed sustainably — with biodiversity as a priority — the agricultural sector can make significant contributions to protecting biodiversity.

This renders promoting and facilitating the mainstreaming of biodiversity across all agricultural sectors "fundamental," FAO's Director-General argued.

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2018 Children’s Day: Wanton killings worry MeCAM, says it compounds children malnutrition misery

NaijaAgroNet:

As the world gear up to mark the 2018 Children’s Day, the Media Centre Against Child Malnutrition (MeCAM Nigeria) has expressed worries over the wanton killings going on across the country, especially by suspected terrorist-herdsmen and urged the Federal Government (FG) to put a stop to it, because its effect compounds children nutrition status, reports NaijaAgroNet.

A press statement endorsed by the Director, Outreach for MeCAM, Mrs. Julie Ekong, in commemoration of the 2018 Children’s Day, MeCAM chairman, Mr. Remmy Nweke noted that the destruction of farmlands and killings by the terrorists-herdsmen have reduced the number of farmers; while some have been killed, others have fled their farmlands.

The deaths have also left many children motherless, aggravating the already low percentage of exclusive breast fed children in Nigeria, which according to UNICEF stood at 15 per cent.

Conflicts and resulting mass displacement, he said, often results in increased prevalence of acute malnutrition and mortality.

MeCAM, therefore calls on Federal Government to pay more attention to children in Internally Displaced camps with a view to reducing malnutrition and stunted growth through vitamin A supplementation.

Although MeCAM noted that Nigeria has made progress in micronutrient deficiency, UNICEF says half of the children aged 6-59 months do not receive Vitamin A supplementation. Whereas, some 11 million under age children are said to be stunted especially in the North East and North West part of the country, as well as the poorest sectors of the society.

MeCAM believes that this year’s theme ”Creating safe spaces for children: Our collective responsibility,” is apt because intervention by relevant authorities will lead to the protection of children and their mothers which will translate to less crises and interruption in the lives of the children that will aggravate malnutrition and stunted growth of children in the country.

Children, MeCAM insisted have a right to life and food.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that Media Centre Against Child Malnutrition (MeCAM) Nigeria was founded Thursday, August 28, 2015, as a media advocacy group against child malnutrition and well-being, as well as to strengthen the agro-nutrition capacity and interest of its members professionally in contribution to nation-building, especially in Nigeria and across the continent of Africa among developing countries of the world.

MeCAM is committed to showcasing successful and development efforts in the area of agro-nutrition for the benefit of mankind and for Africa emancipation from extreme hunger especially in children, women and society, centred on Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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Ebola outbreak: Africa CDC deploys experts to DRC

NaijaAgroNet:

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is deploying 25 epidemiologists, laboratory experts, and anthropologists to support the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) efforts to control the recent Ebola virus outbreak in Mbandaka and Bikoro, reports NaijaAgroNet.

This, NaijaAgroNet gathered, followed the announcement on 8 May 2018 of the Ebola outbreak by the government of DRC.

According to Africa CDC, the deployment follows an assessment mission within 48 hours and activated Emergency Operational Centre to link, scan and monitor the situation.

“The global community needs to respond to this outbreak as a crisis and not as an emergency, by quickly deploying public health assets to the affected areas expiditiously”. I want to applaud the Minister of Health of the DRC for his exemplary leadership in managing this current outbreak so far. “All our efforts should be geared towards supporting his leadrship” said Dr. John Nkengasong, the Director of the Africa CDC, upon his return this week, with a high level delegation, to the affected areas in Mbandaka and Bikoro.

The DRC government is working with partners to improve coordination mechanisms, enhance surveillance, laboratory confirmation, contact identification and follow-up, case management, infection prevention and control, safe and dignified burials, social mobilisation and community engagement, logistics, risk communication, vaccination, partner engagement, research and resource mobilisation.

During the Africa CDC team’s visits they assisted the Ministry of Health, together with other partners,  to develop three strategies: a) surveillance and contact tracing, b) Defining the various health areas affected, and c) laboratory testing and network. The Africa CDC will provide up to USD 2 million to support Africa CDC interventions. Due to the remote nature of the Equateur Province, it is expected that more efforts will need to be put in supply chain issues to ensure that essential items needed are delivered swiftly.

Last week the African Union Peace and Security Council was briefed on the situation and will continue to receive reports.  Under Article 6(f) relating to its mandate with regard to humanitarian action and disaster management the Council can authorise deployment of military and civilian missions and assets to tackle emergency situations as it did in August 2014 in the Ebola outbreak in the West Africa sub-region. This outbreak is the 9^th outbreak of the Ebola virus disease over the last 4 decades in the country.

NaijaAgroNet also gathered that the affected health area of Bikoro covers 1 075 km and has a population of 163 065 inhabitants. This huge population is supported by only 3 hospitals and 19 health centres, most of which have limited functionality. 

The risk of speard of the virus is high at national and regional levels due in part to the proximity of the epidemic focus to the Congo River which links with the capitals of the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. As such, Africa CDC is coordinating with these countries to ensure that their surveillance systems are activated and information is shared in real time.

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Merck more than a mother debuts

NaijaAgroNet:

The Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany has launched their ‘Merck More Than a Mother’ program in Namibia in partnership with the Chairperson of National Council of Namibia, Hon. Margaret Mensah and the Ministry of Health, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO Merck Foundation emphasized, “The time is ripe for a shift in mindset around the issue.”

“Not only husbands mistreat women [due to infertility], mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law can also influence their son or brother to harass his wife because she cannot have children. All this has to change.” she said.

She added that they are not only focusing on the education of adolescence about infertility prevention, but also on the trainings and awareness around infertility and infertility stigma.

“What about the present? We are also calling on Members of Parliament to advocate for this in their communities. A little bit of information which takes one minute can save lives, happiness, and can change culture and beliefs around you."Dr. Kelej said.

She further said the media could play a crucial role in sensitizing citizens on infertility, its prevention and the role of men and women in the fight. Therefore, we are going to launch media recognition award and media training program to prepare the media to advocate and raise awareness with the aim to break the stigma around Infertility in Namibia.

Merck Foundation has appointed Hon. Margaret Mensah-Williams, as the ambassador of ‘Merck More Than a Mother’ campaign in the Republic of Namibia, to work with Merck Foundation in defining interventions, and to break the stigma around childless women across the country. Together we will transform the lives of unprivileged women, who suffered infertility stigma all their lives.”, Dr. Rasha Kelej said. Speaking at the same occasion, National Council Chairperson Margaret Mensah-Williams indicated that infertility is a reality in Namibia and should be addressed.

She also said that women who are unable to conceive do not owe anyone an explanation.

“Don’t care. Shine your shine. You don’t owe anybody an explanation. If God decides the time for you to bear a child, you shall bear that child. Don’t worry about people when they talk. They talk about us every day. You know what? I don’t care. I shine.” she said.

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Spousal communication key to family planning success

Editorial@NaijaAgroNet:

As communication is key to a successful marriage, so it is with family planning uptake among couples.

Conversely, lack of communication has often been linked to misunderstanding in relationships. Family planning, otherwise known as contraception, refers to the diverse methods and techniques whereby couples can determine the number of children they want to have and when.

Evidence has shown that many factors hinder rapid uptake of family planning by couples, due to lack of communication in the home.

Some of them include: myths and misconceptions on initiating use of traditional and modern methods of contraceptives.

Many couples are in relationships where it is commonly believed that the man being the head of the family dictates the tune with regards to taking key decisions in the home. For instance, if the man does not approve of any family planning method, the wife would have an uphill task convincing him on thinking otherwise.

Based on such differences, some women in marriage/relationships have gone behind their spouses and adopted family planning method without their knowledge, have often created mistrust which regularly leads to conflicts in homes. In one of such experiences which occurred in Lagos State recently, a man, names withheld, suddenly found out that his wife had adopted an implant, which is a hormone-based and highly effective contraceptive device.

The typical implant is a small flexible tube measuring about 40mm in length and is inserted under the skin (typically in the upper arm) by a health care professional. It prevents pregnancy by releasing hormones that prevent ovaries from releasing eggs and thickens cervical mucous. 

After putting pressure on the woman, she confessed to him, explaining that she wanted to space their children to enable her regain her health and then continue with her job. Besides considering the dangers of too frequent pregnancies, the woman also considered the burden of combining another pregnancy with her job, which she envisaged would be quite unbearable for her and might even make her lose her job that is so difficult to get these days.

Unfortunately, in all the woman’s explanations, her husband refused to see reasons with her just because he was not involved from the beginning when the decision was taken by his wife to have a family planning and during the process when the woman was counselled on the method to use.

Though the man in anger demanded that the healthcare provider that administered the implant on her should remove it, to the consternation of his wife, this misunderstanding could have been avoided if the couple had a collective decision on the issue which could only be achieved through effective communication.

This experience plays out in most Nigerian homes, often resulting in conflicts, separation and in extreme cases, divorce. However, it can be effectively addressed through constant engagement and communication among couples. This is because, embracing family planning methods and using them correctly after proper counselling  is more important than the conflict. Rather, it should be a measure to unite couples.

Experts say family planning gives individuals and couples the opportunity to have the number of their desired children, the spacing and timing of their births and this can be achieved through the use of contraceptive methods.

A Family Planning expert, Dr. Ejike Orji, believes that dialogue is very important when a spouse in a relationship plans to adopt family planning. According to him, any woman going ahead to do things that her husband do not like would not get his support and this may result into unnecessary conflict, whereas, the aim of using family planning was bonding in families.

It is obvious that a wide range of family planning options are available nowadays with their potential benefits. It, therefore, behooves on the woman who is initiating the subject of family planning to her husband to find a way to open conversation on the issue.

For instance, such a woman should find out what her husband thinks and says about it; and how he might relate with her on this issue. In conclusion, it is clear that a woman discussing family planning with her husband, would bring the partner to the same level on which she is, and this measure could pave way for the couple to be on the same page.

While on the same page, the woman should remember to consult a trained healthcare provider who can help her make the best choice tailored towards meeting her own unique needs.

*Courtesy: Media for Health Advocacy

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