By joseph checky abuje joabuje@gmail.com After a devastating season of floods in the flood prone area of budalangi in western kenya, rice farmers from Bunyalla irrigation scheme have a reason to smile after recording a bumper harvest of paddy. Majority of farmers had just transplanted rice in their fields as others werer in a haste…
Amref Launches Study on COVID-19 Response Governance
By Adelyn Wangusi Amref Health Africa has launched the COVID-19 Response Governance Mapping Initiative, a study on the sustainability and effectiveness of COVID-19 response efforts implemented in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Senegal, and Malawi. The initiative is a joint project between researchers based at AMREF International University (Kenya). The University of Edinburgh (Scotland), the Somali…
IITA scientist, Dixon, named among the top 20 most influential plant breeders in Africa
The Director of Development and Delivery Office of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr. Alfred Dixon, has been named among the top 20 most influential plant breeders in Africa. He was named alongside two other IITA scientists – Abebe Menkir and John Derera. The Southern African Plant Breeders’ Association (SAPBA) recently published the…
New maize variety set to uplift farmers’ fortunes in western Kenya
By Joseph Checky Abuje joabuje@gmail.com For many years Elda Mariam, a maize farmer from Nambale sub-county, Busia County has been harvesting a maximum of Seven bags in her one-acre parcel. This could however change with the introduction of Bt Maize variety in that locality. “Maize farming has been a big loss to me. I…
Leaders put heads together against climate change
By Joseph Checky Abuje joabuje@gmail.com Participants at a climate change meeting convened by Kenya Climate Change Working Group (www.kccwg.org) have called for integrated approaches at all levels of governance internationally, nationally, and locally as a measure to mitigate climate change effects, that is giving the world’s sleepless nights. According to the speakers, there is…
The rising level of fake medicine worries Africa
By Joseph Checky Abuje joabuje@gmail.com The rising level of fake medicines across Africa has governments worried about the health of their citizens. Sources at a meeting of health experts noted that quality-assured medicine is critical for the diagnostic and treatment of diseases. In 2019, the continent established the African Medicines Agency (AMA) 2019…
Bill and Melinda Gates plot to overcome challenges of delivering COVID-19 vaccines, treatments
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced it will commit an additional $250 million to support the research, development, and equitable delivery of lifesaving tools in the global effort against COVID-19. Marking the end of a year focused on the scientific breakthroughs needed to end the pandemic, the foundation calls for global commitments to…
8 in 10 young Africans want WIFI as a fundamental human right
On Human Rights Day, a recently published pan-African survey of young people finds that the vast majority (78%) believe that access to Wi-Fi and Internet connectivity should be a fundamental human right, while over eight in ten (81%) indicated that it is “…technology that will change the fortunes of Africa”. These findings ultimately suggest that…