Africa

Demand for Zimbabwean Roses Rising

Akanimo Sampson May 12, 2021

Roelof Nugteren of Luxaflor Roses, a 22-ha rose farm in the Zimbabwean town Concession, says things are going well in Zimbabwe. Not only the demand for their roses keeps rising, the agriculture and horticulture industry is being picked up in the country again as well. “Socially and economically it is a stable country making it […]

Zimbabwean Horticulture Sector Blooms

Akpan Akata May 09, 2021

This season in Zimbabwe, there is an overall increase in acreage and production under horticultural crops with the area under emerging crops such as blueberries increasing across the provinces. This is a good sign, with the national government, through the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) also set to revive horticultural production with a focus on […]

Ebola Outbreak Shakes DR Congo Again!

Akpan Akata May 05, 2021

Just three months after the first case was reported in North Kivu, the 12th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has been officially declared. World Health Organisation (WHO) says the latest outbreak which was announced on Monday, marks the end of the country’s fourth outbreak of the deadly disease in less […]

Tigray: 2 Million People Cut-off from Humanitarian Supplies as UN-Ethiopia Deal ‘Crashes’

Akpan Akata May 02, 2021

The deal between the United Nations and the government of Ethiopia for “unimpeded, sustained and secure access” for humanitarian supplies to reach those in need across areas now under its control in Tigray appears to have collapsed. Early last December, the global body announced that agreement has been reached with the Ethiopian to allow “unimpeded, […]

Ethiopia: Over 1 Million People Displaced, IOM Says

Akpan Akata Apr 25, 2021

International Organisation for Migration’s (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) shows that over one million people are displaced across 178 accessible locations in Ethiopia’s Tigray region and neighbouring Afar and Amhara. This data was collected through a monthly Emergency Site Assessment (ESA) which has been in place since the conflict in Northern Ethiopia erupted in November 2020. The assessment, conducted […]

Africa: FAO, AU Commission Launch New Initiative to Boost Trade, Improve Food Security

Akpan Akata Apr 17, 2021

With the African Union (AU) Commission, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), launched a new Africa-wide framework to boost trade and improve food security. According to FAO, the initiative will help “unlock the potential” of the agricultural sector to contribute to sustainable and inclusive growth across the continent, and promote the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement […]

IITA Chief, Makinde Highlight Required Systemic Changes for Africa

Akanimo Sampson Apr 13, 2021

Director-General of International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nteranya Sanginga, in a joint IPS News Agency op-ed with Young Africa Works Executive Manager, Aline Mugisho, and Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, highlighted some of the required systemic changes. He is arguing that with Africa’s population predicted to double by 2050, creating challenges such as high unemployment […]

In Sudan, Women Now Seeing Expanded Life-serving Reproductive Health Services

Akanimo Sampson Apr 10, 2021

50-year old Farina, (not real name) in Sudan’s Blue Nile State, does not remember how long ago she developed an obstetric fistula, a devastating childbirth injury that causes chronic incontinence, infections and, often, ostracism from the community. She was married while just a teenager. Child marriage greatly increases the risk of experiencing obstructed childbirth, which, […]

Why Women, Girls are Frequently Abducted in South Sudan

Akanimo Sampson Apr 07, 2021

Women and girls have been frequently abducted in Jonglei, South Sudan because of their economic importance in demanding a bride price paid in the form of cattle, the UN Mission said in a statement. “The UN Mission believes that as many as 686 women and children were abducted during the clashes that took place between January […]

Mali Becoming a Gold Mine for Terrorists, Security Experts Warn

Akpan Akata Apr 06, 2021

Security experts with the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) are warning that a flourishing gold mining economy in Kayes, Mali, is offering violent extremist groups an opportunity to expand their membership and reach. ISS Senior Researcher, Fahiraman Rodrigue Koné, and the Institute’s Research Officer in Bamako, Nadia Adam, said last April 9, al-Qaeda-affiliated groups operating in the […]