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Africa

Nigeria floods: 'Overwhelming' disaster leaves more than 600 people dead

BBC Africa - Mon, 10/17/2022 - 00:34
Nigeria is used to seasonal flooding, but this year has been significantly worse than usual.
Categories: Africa

Ethiopia's Tigray conflict: Civilian bloodbath warning as offensive escalates

BBC Africa - Sun, 10/16/2022 - 18:08
Cities in Tigray are reportedly being carpet bombed as food and medical supplies are running out.
Categories: Africa

Namibian cricketers shock Sri Lanka

BBC Africa - Sun, 10/16/2022 - 14:07
Namibia shock Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka and the Netherlands edge past United Arab Emirates as the Men's T20 World Cup starts in spectacular fashion.
Categories: Africa

Kenya: Female footballer from Lamu dreams of turning professional

BBC Africa - Sun, 10/16/2022 - 08:14
Sauda, a stand-out female footballer dreams of turning professional.
Categories: Africa

Ebola in Uganda: Three-week lockdown announced for two districts

BBC Africa - Sun, 10/16/2022 - 04:44
There have been 19 deaths and 58 cases reported in Uganda during this outbreak.
Categories: Africa

Nigeria election: Dangers of being religious in a religious nation

BBC Africa - Sun, 10/16/2022 - 01:50
Religious intolerance is topping debates in Nigeria with four months to go to elections.
Categories: Africa

Tunisia: Thousands from rival political parties protest against President Kais Saied

BBC Africa - Sat, 10/15/2022 - 18:07
Protesters denounced the president as an autocrat and also highlighted food and fuel shortages.
Categories: Africa

Nigeria floods: People evacuate on top of cars

BBC Africa - Sat, 10/15/2022 - 04:08
Over one million people have left their homes after widespread flooding hits Nigeria.
Categories: Africa

Sierra Leone's civil war: 'I was shot by rebels' - the dangers of reporting

BBC Africa - Sat, 10/15/2022 - 01:40
Umaru Fofana looks back at how reporting on Sierra Leone's civil war 25 years ago got personal.
Categories: Africa

Nigeria floods: Braving the rising waters in Kogi state

BBC Africa - Fri, 10/14/2022 - 21:51
More than a million people are now homeless in the worst flooding the nation has seen in a decade.
Categories: Africa

Nigeria's worst floods in a decade

BBC Africa - Fri, 10/14/2022 - 19:30
Nigeria is being hit with some of its worst flooding in over a decade with more than 500 deaths since July.
Categories: Africa

Kenya's 2021 Boston Marathon winner Diana Kipyokei suspended after failing drug test

BBC Africa - Fri, 10/14/2022 - 17:05
Kenya's 2021 Boston Marathon winner Diana Kipyokei and compatriot Betty Wilson Lempus are provisionally suspended following failed drug tests.
Categories: Africa

Why are Kenyan farmers turning to social media?

BBC Africa - Fri, 10/14/2022 - 16:09
Kenyan farmers are turning to social media platforms to increase their knowledge of farming and boost their incomes.
Categories: Africa

The Woman King: In the footsteps of Benin's Tassi Hangbé

BBC Africa - Fri, 10/14/2022 - 15:15
Benin's four-time presidential candidate, Marie-Elise Gbedo, traces the story of the legendary Dahomey warriors.
Categories: Africa

Farmers in Bhutan Turn To Asparagus and Strawberries To Boost Incomes

Africa - INTER PRESS SERVICE - Fri, 10/14/2022 - 14:51
Zam, 57, sits at her kitchen table looking out the window at her orchard of four dozen apple trees. In the past eight years she has sold only two crates (100 kilogrammes) of the fruit because of poor harvests. She turned her attention to vegetables instead but the production was low because of a water […]
Categories: Africa

Zanzibar swimming crabs deaths being investigated

BBC Africa - Fri, 10/14/2022 - 14:12
Thousands of dead swimming crabs have washed up on the beaches of the Tanzanian islands.
Categories: Africa

WORLD FOOD DAY 2022

Africa - INTER PRESS SERVICE - Fri, 10/14/2022 - 13:37

By External Source
Oct 14 2022 (IPS-Partners)

In 2022, an ongoing pandemic, global conflicts, climate change, rising prices and international tensions…

…are affecting global food security.

But we need to build sustainable access to enough nutritious food.

For everyone – everywhere.

No one should be left behind.

Leave No One Behind
World Food Day
16th October 2022

Enough food is produced today to feed everyone on the planet…

…but millions of people around the world cannot afford a healthy diet.

Ending hunger isn’t only about supply.

The problem is access and availability of nutritious food.

People around the world are suffering the domino effects of challenges that know no borders.

More than 80% of the extreme poor live in rural areas.

Many rely on agriculture and natural resources for their living.

They are usually the hardest hit by natural and man-made disasters…

…and are often marginalized due to their gender, ethnic origin, or status.

In the face of global crises, global solutions are needed more than ever.

A sustainable world is one where everyone counts.

Governments, the private sector, academia, and civil society and individuals need to work together…

…to prioritize the right of all people to food, nutrition, peace and equality.

We must all be the change.

Categories: Africa

How to Stop the ‘Hunger Pandemic’ Part 2: How to Reduce Food Loss

Africa - INTER PRESS SERVICE - Fri, 10/14/2022 - 13:00

By Sungjoon Ham, Souta Oshiro and Alex Yoon
Seoul, Tokyo, Boston, Oct 14 2022 (IPS-Partners)

A group of middle school students living in Asia filmed this video on their campaign to reduce food waste. They learned many lessons: Only take as much food as you can eat; don’t waste, eat ugly fruit and compost. In this production, they spoke to experts about how to ensure that everybody has something nutritious to eat.

Categories: Africa

Nigeria's Asuu university strike: 'Wasted eight months of my life'

BBC Africa - Fri, 10/14/2022 - 11:56
Lecturers agree to resume lessons but the future of Nigeria's universities remains unclear.
Categories: Africa

World Food Day 2022 Call to Action as 828M People Go Hungry

Africa - INTER PRESS SERVICE - Fri, 10/14/2022 - 09:29

Climate change, among other crises, has impacted on food security. Changing rainfall patterns have affected a rural community from Kondh Adivasis, Odisha. Credit: Credit: Aniket Gawade / Climate Visuals Countdown

By Naureen Hossain
New York, Oct 14 2022 (IPS)

In this year alone, the global impact of compounding crises demonstrates, more than ever, why food scarcity must be addressed internationally and how there must be a shift in the food and agricultural systems.

October 16 is World Food Day, and this year it seems crucial to take stock of the causes and consequences of global food insecurity. Food insecurity has already been of greater concern in recent years due to the global COVID-19 pandemic disrupting our interconnected governance, trade, welfare, and humanitarian aid systems. This year has seen a continuation of those disruptions exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic and increasing challenges brought on by climate and environment-induced disasters, conflict, and rising prices.

The impact could not be more obvious. Findings from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) show that over 40% of the world population – or 3.1 billion people – cannot afford a healthy diet and that 828 million people are hungry. Rising food prices across crops in meats, cereals, and oils have disrupted the Food Price Index, which has been declining for six months.

The increase in food insecurity and its impact on global hunger has been observed worldwide. But between certain regions, there are clear disparities. Africa has been bearing the greater burden of food insecurity. A new report from the FAO reveals that in 2021, 20.2 percent, or one-fifth of the total population, went hungry. The next highest rate is Asia, with 9.1 percent. A disparity that wide should be more than enough to raise the alarm.

This food insecurity has also resulted in micronutrient deficiencies, such as zinc, iron, vitamin A, vitamin B, folate, and vitamin D. While at first unnoticeable; these deficiencies can lead to long-term losses in health and cognitive development. This would be fatal, especially to young children still developing and still needing proper nutrition.

Researchers from the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) conducted an analysis of the global prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies in preschool-aged children and non-pregnant women of reproductive age. Its findings suggested that over half of the preschoolers and two-thirds of the women in the study reported a deficiency in either iron, zinc, or folate. Regionally, the majority of the children and women lived in east Asia and the Pacific, south Asia, or sub-Saharan Africa. While the report acknowledged its limitations, and in how rarely the rate of deficiency is quantified and the absence of a global standard rate at the time of the study, as GAIN Executive Director Dr Lawrence Haddad has noted, one might observe the troubling implications for a wider demographic.

“Once we factor in males and other age groups, such as schoolchildren and the elderly, these numbers imply that our current global suggestion that two billion people suffer from hidden hunger is a gross underestimation,” he said.

In the context of Africa and the Sahel region, local governments’ capacity to respond to the food crisis have been limited or difficult to implement in the face of conflict within the region and in neighboring countries. Even international intervention from groups like FAO and World Food Programme (WFP) have had to work with limited resources and funding. In February, it was reported that within the last three years in the Sahel, the number of people dealing with starvation increased dramatically and dangerously, from 3.6 to 10.5 million.

Forced displacement caused by conflict in the region also impacts food security, as more than 5 million people live in forced displacement from Burkina Faso to the Lake Chad Basin area.

But what is perhaps more pressing, and more devastating, is the impact of climate change or environment-induced disasters on food security. The Sahel region in particular is susceptible to extreme weather conditions such as heavy rains and floods, and the Horn of Africa is suffering from a historic drought this year. Looking at other regions, the recent floods that devastated Pakistan destroyed over $70 billion USD worth in rice crops. This has also led to a rise in rice prices in the international market from other major rice exporters such as India, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Meanwhile, sub-Saharan Africa is heavily dependent on rice imports. It is an example of how connected the world is, and how we are dependent on each other to help meet that most basic and essential need: food.

With all these crises piling onto one another, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. But it also makes the theme of World Food Day even more pertinent. It is why this year’s theme feels more like a call to action: leave no one behind. These challenges will persist and only further overwhelm the global community unless we are united in our efforts to mitigate food insecurity. We are undeniably and inextricably dependent on each other to meet our needs for food, health, and security. “Leave no one behind” is a simplified reminder and approach, to a problem with complex parts and overlapping problems.

This call to action will only ring true when greater systematic changes are implemented in the food systems, and when this is revisited frequently rather than left for the next big natural disaster.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 


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Excerpt:

World Food Day is celebrated on October 16, 2022, with the theme Leave NO ONE behind. During this week, IPS will publish features that showcase better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life.
Categories: Africa

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