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21 Feb, 22

CABI Ranks Invasive Alien Plant Species in Ghana

By Gift Briton Though invasive alien species (IAS) continue to shape the global landscape through their effects on biological diversity and agricultural productivity,  the effects are particularly pronounced in Sub-Saharan Africa, which has seen the arrival of many IAS in recent years. A survey conducted by Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International(CABI) on nearly 200 […]
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WHO Announces First Technology Recipients of Vaccine Hub

By Sharon Atieno Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia are the first recipients of the technology needed to produce mRNA vaccines in the African continent. The announcement was made by the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the European Union – African Union summit at a ceremony hosted by […]
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18 Feb, 22

Kenya Launches Five-year Plan for Zoonotic Diseases

By Aziza Atieno and Sharon Atieno With Kenya bearing a tremendous burden of zoonotic diseases- transmitted from animals to humans and vice versa- with multiple outbreaks of different diseases yearly, the country has launched a five-year plan to tackle these diseases. Globally, zoonotic diseases account for over 60% of all human infections and over 75% […]
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17 Feb, 22

KEMRI Launches New Malaria, COVID-19 Kits

By Gift Briton The Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) has launched two new products- Plasmochek and KEMCOV-19- that will revolutionize COVID-19 and Malaria testing. Malaria is an endemic disease in sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya, where the country’s Centre for disease control and prevention (CDC) estimates that the mortality due to the disease is at 10,700 people yearly. With Kenya listed among […]
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16 Feb, 22

Nigeria Needs New Seed System Approach to Transform Cassava Production

Nigeria, the largest producer of cassava in the world, needs to adopt a new seed system approach to compete globally and keep the price of cassava-based foods stable and affordable in the country, experts say. Speaking at a media parley at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) on Wednesday, Prof Lateef Sanni, the project […]
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Food Security Recovery Likely to Take Time, FSNWG Says

By Muia Thomas Food security recovery is likely going to take time following extremely poor and unpredictable rainfall patterns,  Food Security and Nutrition Working Group (FSNWG) says. In a report provided by the FSNWG, at least 12-14 million people in Southern and South Eastern Ethiopia, arid and semi-arid lands (ASALS) of Kenya and Somalia will most […]
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WHO: Boosting Africa’s Vaccines Self-Reliance

By Gift Briton The World Health Organization(WHO), South African government and other international partners are collaborating to build and develop mRNA vaccine hub in South Africa, an initiative which aims at producing COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria vaccines. For greater part of 2021, inadequate supply of COVID-19 vaccine globally, left billions of people mostly from African […]
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$11.4mn Grant to Strengthen AUC Governance

By Aziza Atieno The African Development Fund has approved $11.48 million grant to the African Union Commission (AUC) to strengthen its governance and provide it with institutional support to improve its capacity to drive the continent’s agenda. Agenda 2063 is the AU’s vision for “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a […]
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WHO: Africa on Track to Control COVID-19, Continuous Vigilance Needed

By Mary Hearty Africa should continue being vigilant despite the continent’s possibility of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, World Health Organization (WHO) says. Over the last two years, the continent has witnessed four waves of COVID-19, each with higher peaks or more total new cases than the previous one. The surges have been mostly […]
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