WINKER

http://www.newsfromafrica.org/newsfromafrica/articles/art_12484.html Thursday 14 April 2011 African women more at risk of having stillbirths. Some 2.6 million third trimester stillbirths worldwide occur every year, according to the first comprehensive set of stillbirth estimates, published today within a special series in the medical journal The Lancet. Every day more than 7,300 babies are stillborn. A death occurs just when parents expect to welcome a new life. Ninety-eight per cent of stillbirths occur in low and middle-income countries. Wealthier nations are not immune with 1 in 200 pregnancies resulting in a stillbirth - two thirds occurring in the last trimester of pregnancy, a rate that has stagnated in the last decade. The five main causes of stillbirths are childbirth complications, maternal infections in pregnancy, maternal disorders (especially pre-eclampsia and diabetes), foetal growth restriction and congenital abnormalities. The number of stillbirths worldwide has declined...

http://www.newsfromafrica.org/newsfromafrica/articles/art_12430.html Tuesday 29 March 2011 The 44 member self help group, initially presented a project on technology of up scaling on passion fruit production. MURANGA---When Hannah Wairimu 48, lost her husband in 2009, she thought the world had crumbled on her as she was left with the burden of feeding their four children and taking them to school. The family, living in Karwaya Village of Kandara district, had been dependent on coffee growing but due to poor marketing strategies of the crop, they incurred losses. Meanwhile, her income was dwindling day by day thereby making it impossible to take care of her family. The widow invested in diversifying crops on her small farm, thanks to the Agricultural Technologies Information Response Initiative (ATIRI) programme introduced by Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). Wairimu now grows passion fruits, avocadoes, bananas, and strawberry for commercial purposes thereby earning her enou...

http://www.newsfromafrica.org/newsfromafrica/articles/art_12429.htmlMonday 28 March 2011 Plant clinics are modeled on the human health advice concept, where plant ‘doctors’ provide expert advice on pests and diseases affecting their crops and provide prescriptions for affected plants. NAIROBI---As human beings visit doctors when feeling unwell, that is the same way farmers are now taking their ‘sick’ plants to clinics for information and prescription. Plant clinics are modeled on the human health advice concept, where plant ‘doctors’ provide expert advice on pests and diseases affecting their crops and provide prescriptions for affected plants. The global plant clinic concept was developed in 2003 by the Centre for Agricultural Bio-Science International (CABI) in Bolivia then piloted in Bangladesh and Nicaragua. In Kenya CABI, jointly partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture’s extension services, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate (KEPHI...

When Hannah Wairimu 48, lost her husband in 2009, she thought the world had crumbled on her as she was left with the burden of feeding their four children and taking them to school. The family, living in Karwaya Village of Kandara district, had been dependant on coffee growing but due to poor marketing strategies of the crop, they incurred costs. Meanwhile her income was dwindling day by day thereby making it impossible to take care of her family. The widow invested in diversifying crops on her small farm, thanks to the Agricultural Technologies Information Response Initiative (ATIRI) programme introduced by Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). Wairimu now grows passion fruits, avocadoes, bananas, and strawberry for commercial purposes thereby earning her enough money to send her children to school feed them and take care of other needs. “Through this programme, I have managed to educate my four children. They had stopped schooling as I could no longer afford fees for them. T...

As human beings visit doctors when feeling unwell, that is the same way farmers are now taking their ‘sick’ plants to clinics for information and prescription. Plant clinics are modeled on the human health advice concept, where plant ‘doctors’ provide expert advice on pests and diseases affecting their crops and provide prescriptions for affected plants. The global plant clinic concept was developed in 2003 by the Centre for Agricultural Bio-Science International (CABI) in Bolivia then piloted in Bangladesh and Nicaragua. In Kenya CABI, jointly partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture’s extension services, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate (KEPHIS) to initiate the project in October last year. Mr. Peter Karanja, a field technician at CABI says that under the programme, farmers take their affected crops to the plant clinics, normally held at public places like market centres where they are given recommendation by trained personnel referr...

Monday 7 February 2011 Kigali Hosts ACBF 20th Anniversary Summit The two-day Summit will include a Heads of State and Government panel on 9th February that will consider the overall state of capacity as it relates to African development. KIGALI---Delegates that include African leaders, dignitaries, academics and public and private sector representatives, and representatives of bilateral and multilateral agencies have begun arriving in Kigali for the 20th anniversary celebrations of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) Speaking ahead of the two-day summit from at the Kigali Serena Hotel, under the theme: The future of Africa is now – the critical role of capacity development, ACBF Executive Secretary, Dr Frannie Léautier said the landscape for capacity development has changed dramatically, since the formation of ACBF twenty years ago. Dr. Frannie added that whereas the seeds for the formation of the Foundation were originally sown outside the continent, there was a major para...

http://www.newsfromafrica.org/newsfromafrica/articles/art_12258.html Kenya: Ford Foundation, AMWIK Join Hands to End Resources Conflict The two organizations have been at forefront of bringing peace between the communities feuding over land in the Rift Valley. NAIVASHA---As we drive to the rough road through to the location of the event, we are met by women, children and old men dancing and singing to welcome us. One thing strikes me: there are no youth. When we alight, ready to begin the event, I find out from one of the old men why the youth are absent. He tells me that quite a number of them are dead. “When the white man left, he sold the land to one community but the other community which believed to be the owners of the land felt shortchanged. War broke out. They fought until the Court of Appeal came in and divided the land. By then, most of our youth who were fighting had already died,’ says John Ole Lindy, the chairman of Ngambani area. During a cultural peace festival organized...

Delegates that include African leaders, dignitaries, academics and public and private sector representatives, and representatives of bilateral and multilateral agencies have begun arriving in Kigali for the 20th anniversary celebrations of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). Speaking ahead of the two-day summit from 8-9 February at the Kigali Serena Hotel, under the theme: The future of Africa is now – the critical role of capacity development, ACBF Executive Secretary, Dr Frannie Léautier said the landscape for capacity development has changed dramatically, since the formation of ACBF twenty years ago. Dr. Frannie added that whereas the seeds for the formation of the Foundation were originally sown outside the continent, there was a major paradigm shift, with Africans owning the agenda for capacity development, rather than having it externally driven. “Africa is claiming its rightful position on the international stage. It is a genuine sign of transformative leadership a...

http://www.newsfromafrica.org/newsfromafrica/articles/art_12229.html Friday 14 January 2011 Nigeria: New Born Death Toll Highest in Africa Nigeria is recording the highest rates of newborn death toll in Africa, with 241,000 babies dying in the first month of life every year, a new Ministry of Health report, ‘Saving Newborn Lives in Nigeria’ has revealed. By Lilian Museka The New data shows that as the death toll in Nigeria is falling, the percentage of deaths that happen in the first month of life is increasing. Newborn deaths now make up 28 per cent of all deaths under five years compared to 24 per cent two years ago. Six out of 10 mothers give birth at home without access to skilled care during childbirth and it is in the first few days of life when both women and newborns are most at risk. The report, unveiled Thursday at the 42nd annual Paediatric Association of Nigeria Conference calls for an increased focus on reducing newborn deaths, the vast majority of which are avoidable. It...

News * print * email to a friend Monday 3 January 2011 Scholarship Trust Launched for African Educationists Trust is designed to enhance knowledge sharing and promote awareness of the benefits of technology assisted learning in Africa http://www.newsfromafrica.org/newsfromafrica/articles/art_12211.html By Lilian Museka ELearning Africa, the largest Pan-African conference on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for development, education and training, has launched a scholarship trust named EAST, to enable African education professionals benefit from networks and resources. The not- for- profit organization, launched mid last month, was designed to enhance knowledge sharing and promote awareness of the benefits of technology-assisted learning and training across Africa. Ms. Rebecca Stromeyer, eLearning Africa organizer and founder of the EAST organization said EAST, which builds on the previous eLearning Africa bursary programme, will offer scholarships to low-income...