An alliance of organisations working across the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) sector in Africa, launched a new media fellowship award, designed to support journalists to report on the most pressing sanitation issues in Africa. Housed in Côte d’Ivoire, the Sanitation Media Fellowship<https://www.speakupafrica.org/publications/?catid=5> is open to all journalists working across the continent and demonstrates the…
US $650 M in support of 300 M Smallholder Farmers Adapt to Climate Change
A coalition of donors, aid institutions and philanthropy promised today to invest more than US $650 million in the CGIAR System Organization to help 300 million smallholder farmers in developing countries adapt to the impacts of climate change. The investments from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands,…
How Blockchain is enabling African farmers
Blockchain technology is a game changer. It is transforming agriculture by enabling smallholder farmers in Africa to improve their production and enhance their trade through a platform of trust. Blockchain is a decentralised, digital ledger which works through a series of digitally connected records where information can be shared openly and publicly verified through a…
Kenya: Government commits to support research
By Jacton Akoyo Kenya’s Deputy President Dr William Ruto said Tuesday that the Government is committed to supporting research through increased funding. Speaking during the third Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) International Conference and the 4th AfriGEO Symposium, Dr Ruto noted that the move would boost the quality of information and…
Kenya moots plan to save Mountain Bongo
Kenya’s’ Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife Monday launched the National Recovery and Action Plan for the critically endangered Mountain Bongo. The Plan was launched by the country’s Cabinet Secretary for Tourism & Wildlife, Najib Balala. The plan seeks to address the myriad challenges facing the Mountain Bongo and will jump-start the process of reversing their…
African countries rank low in the new SDG Gender Index
A new Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Gender Index released by Equal Measures 2030 show that Niger, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chad in Africa have some of the lowest measures to achieving gender equality than anywhere in the world. All these countries have all faced conflict and fragility in recent years. The SDG Gender…
Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation announced finalists
The prestigious Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation announced its four 2019 finalists. Among them are a ground-breaking smart glove that translates sign language to speech via an app, a peer to peer foreign exchange platform, a smart locker that dispenses TB/HIV and other chronic medicines, and smart homes built to help African women afford their…
Strengthening health systems to better fight infectious diseases in Africa
The WHO reports that 13 million people die from infectious diseases each year. In some countries, one in every two deaths is a result of an infectious disease; while in Africa, diseases like HIV/Aids, TB, malaria and hepatitis account for the majority of these deaths. Dr Izukanji Sikazwe, CEO of the Centre of Infectious Disease…