By Henry Neondo The government of Uganda is ready to host the African Regional Climate Week from March 3-4 to build regional momentum for the annual UN Climate Change Conferences and drive forward regional implementation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement. The Regional Climate Week will provide a platform for representatives of national and subnational governments, cities,…
COVID-19 Vaccine roll out: Health experts urge Africa to exploits routes
By Henry Neondo Health experts in Africa have urged African countries to exploit any of three available routes to access vaccines to protect citizens from COVID-19. According to the experts, massive advances in vaccine science over the past year offered hope, but the global community needed to learn from its mistakes with inequitable HIV…
New guidelines for malaria launched
The WHO Guidelines for malaria, launched today, bring together the Organization’s most up-to-date recommendations for malaria in one user-friendly and easy-to-navigate online platform. They are designed to support malaria-affected countries in their efforts to reduce and, ultimately, eliminate a disease that continues to claim more than 400 000 lives each year. Users can access the evidence that…
13 Africa and Asia startups cleantech innovation to tackle Climate change
By Henry Opondo Six teams from Africa and seven from Asia will advance their development of promising cleantech solutions through an upcoming Innovation Academy. The teams were participants of the Youth Climate Innovation Labs, a fast paced three-day event that brought together selected youth, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and climate technology experts in…
One Planet Fellowship US$19.2 M climate change, agriculture solutions calls for entries
The African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) has announced the call for the third cohort of the One Planet Fellowship. The US$19.2 million One Planet Fellowship seeks to invest in over 630 agricultural scientists, fostering their leadership expertise, strengthening their research skills, including integrating gender into their work, and catalyzing partnerships in Africa…
Africa urged to fast-track adoption of second-generation resistant maize varieties
By Joshua Masinde Scientists are calling for accelerated adoption of new hybrid maize varieties with resistance to maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease in sub-Saharan Africa. In combination with recommended integrated pest management practices, adopting these new varieties is an important step towards safeguarding smallholder farmers against this devastating viral disease. A new publication in Virus…
Climate Change: Climate information services badly needed in Africa
By Joseph checky Abuje joabuje@gmail.com Investing in effective, sustainable climate information services is a vital part of adapting to climate change, especially in Africa, a new research report by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) reveals. The report dubbed ‘Investing for sustainable climate services: Insights from the African experience’ looks at the support provided in…
Delivering improved maize seed against all odds
By Joshua Masinde As one of the pioneer homegrown seed companies in Uganda, Farm Inputs Care Centre (FICA) has become one of the leading players in the seed sector value chain. Since its inception in 1999, it has played a significant role in variety development and maintenance, seed production, and processing, packaging and marketing. The…