The Federal Government says it has so far trained more than 8,000 farmers on rice value chain activities under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Programme (ATASP) Phase 1.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh
The National Coordinator of ATASP-1, Mr Haruna Akwashiki, said this in an interview the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday, January 2018.
He noted that the training was done in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB).
According to him, the training is in line with government’s determination to diversify the economy through agriculture, reduce imports and attain self-sufficiency in rice production.
Akwashiki said that 152, 651 tonnes of grains had been released to the market by farmers who were beneficiaries of the programme.
He explained that ATASP-1 had three major components of infrastructure development, commodity value chain and programme management.
According to him, the programme has also trained 3,931 beneficiaries on cassava and 3,498 beneficiaries on sorghum value chain.
“We have trained 205 youths on seeds production technology because we believe that one of the problems that farmers are facing today is the inability to get improved seeds.
“We are working assiduously on this to make sure that improved seeds are made available to farmers.
“More than 40,000 youths have also been trained in various aspects of agribusiness.
“About 120,000 new jobs have been created along the commodity value chain component,’’ he said.
The National Coordinator said the programme had provided eight clinics, 21 hand pumps, five rural markets, 10 primary schools in seven participating states in its infrastructure development component.
He listed the participating states to include Anambra, Enugu, Kano, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto and Niger.
Akwashiki said that the construction of irrigation scheme and roads in the states would soon commence across the participating states.
NAN recalls that ATASP-1 was established in 2015.
The programme is being funded by the Federal Government and AfDB as its contribution to agricultural development in the country.
Its main objective is to ensure attainment of food and nutrition security, employment generation, wealth creation and import substitution.
NAN also recalls that the Federal Government had announced that the country would achieve self-sufficiency in rice production by 2018.
The Federal Government’s plan to establish cattle colonies as a way of checking the incessant herdsmen/farmers clashes has continued to attract reactions and vast interest since it was announced by the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, three weeks ago.
A herd of cattle
Ogbeh, while unveiling the policy, said that 16 states had indicated interest in the scheme and were prepared to volunteer parcels of land for it.
Reviews from across the states indicated that the policy has become an issue for discussion at newspaper stands, social joints, eateries and offices, with anxious Nigerians either condemning it, or suggesting that it has some merit that should be considered.
Many state governments as well as ethnic and regional associations have met over the policy and took positions, while many more are still conferring before deciding.
Already, many states in the south have openly rejected the policy, while some governors in the north, who earlier endorsed the idea, have backed out.
Kogi governor Yahaya Bello, for instance, who was quoted as endorsing the policy, has been told by two of the three major ethnic groups in the state – the Igala and Yoruba – to steer clear of their territory in his search for the land to be used as cattle colony.
The Kogi situation is similar to Plateau’s, one of the states listed by Ogbeh as ready to allocate land for the purpose. Some of Plateau’s leaders have openly rejected the idea and vowed to resist it.
First to fire the salvo was Senator Jonah Jang, Gov. Simon Lalong’s predecessor, who said that his Plateau Central constituents were opposed to the creation of cattle colonies and were not ready to relinquish their ancestral lands to be used for that.
Mr Titus Alams, former Speaker, Plateau House of Assembly, also voiced his opposition to the policy, declaring that Plateau has no land to spare as its farmers do not even have enough.
With more voices kicking against the policy, Lalong capitulated on Friday and told Plateau residents, via a statement signed by his media aide, Dan Manjang, that no Plateau land would be carved out and donated to be used as a cattle colony.
As the policy gets increasingly controversial, pundits appear lost over the difference between the colonies and ranches. Or even the grazing reserves the National Assembly rejected in 2008.
Ogbeh explained: “Cattle colonies are better for the breeding of cows because 30 or 40 ranches can share the same colony. A ranch is usually owned by an individual or a company with generally few cows. In a colony, you could find 30,000 cows owned by different owners.
“The reason why we are designing the colony is that we want to prepare on a large scale, on economy of scale, a place where many owners of cattle can co-exist, and where cows can be fed well, because we can make their feeds. They can get good water to drink. Cows drink a lot of water. We can give them green fodder.’’
From the minister’s explanation, colonies will be larger and sit on lands acquired by the Federal Government, unlike ranches where cattle breeders will acquire land according to extant rules and subject their operations to the norms and cultures of their host communities.
But for Dr. Sylvanus Atoh, a retired teacher and farmer, the idea of cattle colony has remained largely unpopular because it sounds “rather abstract’’.
“The idea may be a good one, but many people still do not know what it means and therefore suspect that it may be a tool being used to achieve some sinister agenda.
“The initiators have not clearly explained its modus operandi, thus giving an impression that communities will be created or carved out of existing ones solely for herders, availing them access to lands that are not theirs,’’ he said.
He advised government to step up efforts to address fears by providing answers to some crucial posers.
“There are many posers. If the land is acquired and the cattle colony is established, who owns that land? Who controls it? Does it belong to the Federal Government, traditional communities or families from whom it had been collected?
“What of the economic trees in such lands? Do they belong to the original owners of the land or the herdsmen occupying the colonies?’’
Atoh expressed the fear that the cattle colonies could turn out to be “states’’ within a state because they would be autonomous communities whose life style might not be the same with their host communities.
Mr Emeka Anosike, Chairman, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), has also expressed reservations about the potency of the cattle colonies as a panacea to the herdsmen/farmers clashes.
“The minister has said that a colony will host 40 ranches which means that hundreds of herders will settle there. Such herders will increase in number and seek more land to occupy which could cause more clashes.
“Again, the lands to be donated are arable lands belonging to people which perpetually denies them of their ancestral property. If each state donates 10,000 hectares of land as proposed, it will translate to 370,000 hectares of land mass given to a group for personal business.
“Nigerian communities are agrarian in nature and need lands for their agricultural activities; taking away scarce arable lands will impede farming activities in rural communities.
“The best step is to encourage individual cattle owners to acquire land for ranching which is the practise in other civilised climes,’’ he said.
Some analysts have also argued that cattle colonies must first be preceded by a census of herdsmen and their cattle, so as to know what number to cater for.
One such analyst is Mr Adamu Yusuf, a retired civil servant now a farmer based in Saminaka, Kaduna State.
“As it is, we do not know the number of cattle in Nigeria. We do not know the number of herdsmen either. So, how can we effectively plan?,’’ he asked.
He said that a census of herdsmen was important in view of recent observations that most of the herdsmen attacking rural farming communities were not Nigerians.
Yusuf recalled that Kaduna Governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, in 2016, confirmed that herdsmen attacking rural communities in that state were not Nigerians.
He quoted the governor as saying that he had established contact with the attackers who were based in some West African countries, and had begun discussions with them toward halting the attacks.
“So, if we established such cattle colonies, what is the guarantee that they will be occupied by local herdsmen and not foreigners?,’’ he asked rhetorically.
Accounts of attacks on Plateau rural communities, as relayed by their traditional rulers, appear to lend credence to Yusuf’s position.
The monarchs, at a meeting organised by the Plateau Police Command and held in Jos recently, said that the attackers were very different from the herdsmen they had related with, over the years.
Mr Patrick Mandong, the Gomre of Kuru and Rev. Ronku Akaa (rtd) the Braa Nggwe in Bassa, all disclosed that the attackers were “strange people’’, and urged government to strive to rid the nation of such strangers.
Like Yusuf, the monarchs advised that effort to settle the herdsmen and their cattle must be preceded by a thorough screening so as to avoid accommodating foreign elements that were not interested in peace.
But as government trudges on with the policy, Ogbeh has tried to assuage the fears by saying that communal land ownership would not be transferred to herdsmen wherever colonies are established.
“There is no truth in the speculations that government is conspiring to grant supremacy over communal land to herdsmen. Government is not using herdsmen to colonise anyone because the project is being executed in partnership with the government of states that volunteered land for it.’’
He said that the Federal Government would fund the project while those wishing to benefit from it will pay some fees.
Ogbeh said that government would soon hold a stakeholders’ meeting on the implementation of the new policy so as to listen to the complaints and address the fears.
Dr. Ahmed Muhammad, former Executive Director, National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), Vom, believed the colonies have their merits. However, he suggested that ranching remains the best option for the cattle breeders because “it is more compact’’.
He advised government to sell the ranching idea to the herdsmen with conviction, saying that it would make it easier to draw a line between Nigerian and foreign herdsmen, who cannot be steadied in one place.
“The herdsmen also desire a better life and will buy into an initiative that promises them that; they should be enlightened to focus more on quality instead of the quantity of cows,’’ he said.
Muhammad said there is need to settle cows in one place, and attributed the opposition to the cattle colonies on the delay in establishing them when land was available.
“Government should have established the colonies, grazing reserves or ranches long ago. It will be difficult now because the land is getting smaller.
“Livestock has been neglected and more attention paid to crops. There are grazing reserves and cattle routes in every state; the respective governments know this because they were all gazetted. It is unfortunate that they have been sold or turned into settlements,’’ he said.
Ironically, some leaders of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), the umbrella body of the herdsmen, do not believe on the need for cattle colonies.
Alhaji Sadiq Gidado, its Chairman in Awka, Anambra State, told newsmen recently that cattle colonies would not work “especially in the South-East geopolitical zone’’.
“In the South-East, the proposed cattle colonies cannot work; you cannot just take somebody’s land and give to another person to conduct his own business; it is not right,’’ he said at a press conference in Awka.
He said that the Anambra government has devised a way of avoiding herdsmen/farmers clashes by working in synergy with security operatives, farmers and herdsmen through the Cattle Menace Control Committee.
Gidado, who dismissed cattle colonies and ranches as “political creations’’ by politicians to bring disharmony between farmers and herdsmen, blamed the frictions on migrant cattle breeders, who were not members of MACBAN, saying that the body had fashioned out some measures to forestall future incidents.
“The regulation is that you only graze where there are no farms. If you destroy farmlands intentionally or unintentionally, you must be punished for what you have done and be made to pay for what you have destroyed,’’ he said.
As the debate rages on, many observers have seen merit in Gidado’s position that what was required is a workable solution that will protect the interests of all sides.
Observers urged the government to consult widely to arrive at a lasting solution that will address mutual fears and restore the age-old cordial relationship between the farmer and herdsman.
The Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State has set aside more than 10 acres for rice farming and processing to improve living standards and reduce unemployment.
Rice farming
The council Chairman, Mr Olusola Idowu, gave the assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Sunday, January 28, 2018.
Idowu said that the farm would begin operations in the second quarter of the year when all arrangements would have been concluded.
“This administration has acquired over 10 acres of land at the riverine area of Ojo for planting of rice. The land is good for such a crop.
“We have equally secured plots of land at Igbede Community for processing and distribution of the rice,” he told NAN.
According to him, the rice will be processed, bagged, distributed and sold at the Igbede.
He said that the rice would be sold to people from within and outside Ojo council area.
Idowu noted that farming was key to economic development and improvement of internally generated revenue.
“My administration’s priority is to invest in health and agriculture sectors,” he said.
Idowu said that the local government area had comparative advantage in farming because of its mass land in riverine areas.
He told NAN that the council would partner with farmers’ associations in the project.
“We will train our farmers and the youth on rice farming,” he said.
The chairman also said that the council was planning to improve cassava production.
“The administration will empower over 20,000 youths in that area of rice and cassava farming to be able to produce in large quantities.’’
The Kano State Commissioner for environment, Dr Ali Makoda, has commended Kano residents for sustaining the sanitation culture over the past years.
Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State
The Commissioner made the commendation after monitoring the monthly environmental sanitation exercise in Kano, the state capital, on Saturday, January 27, 2018.
The Commissioner, who is the chairman of the state sanitation Task Force Committee, explained that Kano is one of the few states where monthly sanitation had been sustained for long.
He urged people to train their younger ones to imbibe the culture and pass it on to generations to come as sanitation is vital even in Islam.
He said, “Although people have tried in maintaining the habit of conducting monthly sanitation, there is still need to do more because Kano is a highly populated state.”
Makoda, further appealed to residents to always notify the Ministry or any other relevant agency to evacuate their refuse whenever they carry out cleanliness of their respective areas.
NAN reports that Kano government commended the residents of the state for sustainability of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise over the past years.
The Abuja-based WaterAid Nigeria on Friday, January 26, 2018 announced the commencement of a new project aimed at highlighting how essential clean water, basic sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are to human activity and for national development.
Mai ruwa, or water vendors, in Makurdi, Benue State. The new WaterAid project in Bauchi State, says the group, will go beyond just providing toilets and taps
Titled “Strengthening Water Sanitation and Hygiene Delivery Systems (SWADS)”, the three-year project will be executed in Bauchi State. Supported by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), the initiative seeks, according to WaterAid, to fortify the water, sanitation and hygiene sector to deliver equitable and sustainable access to WASH services to the poor and marginalised people in the state through district wide and rights based approaches.
The project, it was gathered, follows a successful partnership with HSBC from 2012-2016 worth $25 million and implemented in six of WaterAid International’s country programmes – Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Nigeria and Ghana. This second phase of the project from 2017-19 is worth $12 million and is being implemented in the same six countries.
WaterAid Nigeria carried out the first phase of the project across three states – Bauchi, Benue and Plateau, transforming the lives of communities in these three states by implementing a mixture of low-cost technologies delivering lasting water, sanitation and hygiene solutions. Over the course of the project, the group said it was able to reach over 220,000 people with clean water and nearly 400,000 with sanitation facilities.
The second phase of the project will however be implemented in Bauchi State, where 65% of the people are said to lack access to sanitation and just over half have access to clean water; even as most of the citizens who do not have access to these services are in the rural areas.
Through the SWADS project, WaterAid says it will strive to support government-led plans in ensuring that WASH is prioritised in policies, plans and budgets; to improve WASH services in communities; to empower citizens to demand their rights and hold government accountable for the provision of sustainable WASH services as well as support to improve cross-sector integration towards increasing access to these basic needs for everyone, everywhere.
Oluseyi Abdulmalik, WaterAid Nigeria’s Communication and Media Manager, said: “Clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene is crucial for human and national development yet 33% of Nigeria’s population does not have clean water, 67% do not have a decent toilet and 26% practice open defecation. The impact onhealth, education, livelihoods, women and girls is enormous. We must change the status quo and to do this, we must go beyond just providing toilets and taps; we must deliver sustainable interventions that are driven by a strong sector.
“We are enthusiastic about the SWADS project and we’ve been brainstorming, planning and collaborating with a wide range of partners and stakeholders at different governance levels and with the relevant expertise and skills required to help unblock the challenges and to strengthen the systems responsible for providing increased access to water, sanitation and hygiene to the citizens.
“Our leaders must honour their commitment to ensure everyone everywhere has access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene by 2030.
“From high level advocacy engagements, political economy analyses, local government area selection processes, assessments of civil society organisations, context analysis and baseline surveys, a project design meeting and a project start-up workshop, WaterAid is working with the government and people of Bauchi State to strengthen systems and structures towards delivering increased and sustainable access to water, sanitation and hygiene in the state.”
The Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources of the Gambia, Lamin Dibba, has said that a Green Climate Fund (GCF)-funded adaptation project launched on Tuesday, January 24, 2018 will provide benefits across the West African country.
Minster of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources in Gambia, Lamin B. Dibba
“This timely assistance will integrate ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change into planning at the national, district and village levels throughout the Gambia,” said Minister Dibba. “Increasingly severe droughts during the past few years, along with the threat of sea level rise, means the Gambia is particularly susceptible to a changing climate.”
The project, which combines a $20.5 million GCF grant with a $5 million outlay from the government of the Gambia, will restore agricultural landscapes and degraded ecosystems – including forests, mangroves and savannahs – using climate-resilient tree and shrub species across an area of at least 10,000 hectares.
The six-year project along the Gambia River in four of the country’s seven regions is being implemented by UN Environment (UNEP), a GCF Accredited Entity.
Pa Ousman Jarju, GCF’s Director of Country Programming Division, said the project is strengthening the government’s mainstreaming of climate change adaptation across all levels of government. “I am pleased to see this remains a major government priority,” said Mr Jarju.
Mr Jarju added environmental degradation comes with severe economic consequences, as it reduces soil fertility and lowers agricultural productivity. He said this is especially devastating in a country like the Gambia, which relies on agriculture for about 40 percent of its national exports and 26 percent of its GDP.
The geographic nature of this smallest mainland African country, a meandering strip of land which follows the Gambia River and is no wider than 80 km, means it is vulnerable to rising sea levels as well as drought. The combined effects of sea level rise, erosion of coastal embankments and increased river sedimentation threaten to dislocate communities through major flooding.
UN Environment representative Ermira Fida, UN Environment’s Green Climate Fund Coordinator, said during the project launch this initiative is estimated to benefit over 11,000 people, over half of whom will be women.
“UN Environment is particularly proud of this project as its ecosystem-based adaptation approach not only helps vulnerable rural communities build resilience over large landscapes. it also empowers them to use their own knowledge and decision-making processes to take climate change action,” she said.
The UN Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat on Friday, January 26, 2018 launched a new portal to support the Talanoa Diaologue, an international conversation in which countries will check progress and seek to increase global ambition to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
A view of the atrium in the World Conference Centre Bonn (WCCB) in Germany, venue of COP23. The Dialogue was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP23) in Bonn in November, 2017
The UNFCCC has, through the portal, invited all countries and other stakeholders, including business, investors, cities, regions and civil society, to make submissions into the Talanoa Dialogue around three central questions: Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there?
Countries and non-Party stakeholders will be contributing ideas, recommendations and information that can assist the world in taking climate action to the next level in order to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement and support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Dialogue was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference COP23 in Bonn in November 2017 and will run throughout 2018. The Paris Agreement’s central goal is keep the global average temperature rise to below 2C degrees and as close as possible to 1.5C.
Current global ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to prepare societies to resist increasing climate change is not enough to achieve this under the current national climate action plans known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
“The portal is the gateway for the Talanoa Dialogue. It represents the central point for everyone to make their views heard around enhanced ambition. Additionally, it will make available other key resources for the dialogue,” said Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change.
“I very much welcome the portal because it provides transparency and broadens participation in the dialogue. I look forward to many governments and other actors making their submissions via the portal as part of world-wide efforts required for the next level of climate action and ambition,” she said.
The Pacific island concept of “Talanoa” was introduced by Fiji, which held the Presidency of the COP23 UN Climate Change Conference. It aims at an inclusive, participatory and transparent dialogue.
The purpose of the concept is to share stories, build empathy and to make wise decisions for the collective good. The Talanoa method purposely avoids blame and criticism to create a safe space for the exchange of ideas and collective decision-making.
The Talanoa Dialogue, says the UNFCCC, will be constructive, facilitative and oriented towards providing solutions and will see both technical and political exchanges.
In an effort to spur further climate action at this year’s Global Climate Action Summit (Summit) in September and at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP24) in November, Summit co-chair and Mahindra Group Chairman, Anand Mahindra, on Thursday, January 25, 2018 challenged businesses around the world to join the growing number of companies committed to setting greenhouse gas reduction targets in line with climate science.
Mahindra Group Chairman, Anand Mahindra
“I commit that the Mahindra Group will implement the Paris Agreement in its entirety. A powerful way of ensuring corporate climate action, aligned with the ambition of the Paris Agreement, is by setting science-based targets.
“I applaud all 330+ companies that have already committed to set science-based targets through the Science Based Targets initiative. Two of the three Mahindra companies with the highest emissions in the Group, Tech Mahindra and Mahindra Sanyo Special Steel, have already done so.
“Today, I am inviting all companies, particularly those that emit the most, to commit to set science-based targets. Over the course of 2018, I will be working to expand the adoption of science-based targets not only across the Mahindra Group, but amongst my business colleagues so that by the Global Climate Action Summit in September, 500 companies step up and commit to set science-based targets,” said Mahindra.
More than 330 of the world’s biggest companies have already committed to align their strategies with the ambition of the Paris Agreement through the Science Based Targets initiative. Almost 900 more companies have declared their ambition to set science-based targets within the next two years in their disclosures to the CDP, signaling the emergence of a ‘new normal’ in the way businesses are developing their strategies for the future. Mahindra Sanyo Special Steel Pvt. Ltd. set a science-based Greenhouse Gas emission reduction target of 35% under SCOPE 1, 2 and 3 per ton of steel produced by the year 2030, against 2016 baseline year.
A key purpose of the 2018 Global Climate Action Summit which will be held from September 12-14 in San Francisco, is to showcase climate action around the world, along with bold new commitments, to give worldwide leaders the confidence they need to go even further when they meet at the United Nations COP24 in November.
Summit participants, including sub national governments, investors, businesses and others from around the world, will report on their climate action and commit to ambitious new actions that can help prevent the climate from warming more than 2 degrees Celsius – the point at which scientists warn of potentially catastrophic global consequences.
Setting science-based targets is a great way for businesses to future-proof growth and boost their competitive advantage in the transition to a low-carbon economy. It also sends a powerful signal to global governments that business is aligning strategy with the Paris Agreement, opening the way for us all to move further, faster on the ambition of the Agreement. We welcome the challenge to business to step up in advance of the Global Climate Action Summit by committing to the Science Based Targets initiative, and we hope that many businesses will quickly follow Mahindra’s lead,” said Paul Simpson, CEO of CDP, one of the partners of the Science Based Targets initiative.
Thursday’s announcement is the first of what will be multiple “Summit Challenges” that will concretely help deliver greenhouse gas reductions to help ensure worldwide emissions start trending downward no later than 2020 – a goal that must be met to prevent dangerous temperature rise. It will also help the Summit deliver on its goal to help continue a worldwide energy transition that generates quality employment and inclusive economic growth.
The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, on Friday, January 26, 2018 inaugurated a 14-member Policy Advisory Committee to help in implementing the National Water Resources Master plan.
Suleiman Adamu, Minister of Water Resources
At the event in Abuja, Adamu said the committee became necessary considering the nation’s diverse and economic water resources which needed coordinated and integrated management.
According to him, continuous growth in population, urban migration, varied and increase in water demand requires well researched policies and effective planning.
“The Policy Advisory Committee shall advise the Minister of water resources concerning local and international developments in the water sector including the implementation of the National Water Resources Master Plan.
“They are to advise on climate change issues, Water Law and Policy implementation, Transboundary Water Issues, tracking of National Council on Water Resources decisions. ”
Adamu expressed hope that with the combined wealth of experience of the committee members, they would be able to meet the target before them.
He also expressed hope that the National Water Resources Bill before the National Assembly would be passed into law towards effective management of the water resources potential of the country.
The minister urged the members to brainstorm of what could be done to change the narrative of the water resources sector in the country, adding that Federal Government was more committed to improve the lives of all Nigerians.
The Chairman of the committee, Prof. Suleiman Mustapha, pledged the commitment of the team to actively engage between themselves towers better water resources management and integration.
Mustapha said the Terms of Reference highlights the urgent issues of the water resources sector, citing the issues of climate change, Lake chad receding, adding that concerted efforts was needed to reverse the trend.
“It’s an onerous task that must be done, We must shun every dishonesty and ensure that the targeted goal is met.
“Water resources over the years have not been given the necessary attention, with this committee in place, we will go forward.”
Another committee member, Mr Michael Adesina, said it was saddening to note that Water resources development has not been given priority of attention, saying more commitment was needed from all stakeholders to move the sector forward.
He cited the 2012 floods which saw some villages washed away due to the inability of the Benue basin to to accommodate the water.
He added that there was the need to keep the momentum high on the importance of water resources as it affects health, socio-economic development.
“If you go round the cities, no less than 50 per cent of hospital attendance and admission are as a result of water borne disease, we need to keep talking about these issues. ”
Others members of the committee are Prof. Ben Nwachukwu, Prof. Lekan Oyebande, Nurudeen Rafindadi, Dr Dauda Gowon, James Obong-Bassey and Musa Ibrahim.
Others are Dr Emmanuel Adanu, Tanwa Koya, Garba Iliya among others.
The African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) said Friday, January 26, 2018 that the malaria epidemic remains Africa’s major health care challenge.
The malaria-causing anopheles mosquito feeding on a victim
AU and World Health Organisation (WHO) officials, together with ministers of AU member states and global health care partners, expressed the concern during a high-level panel meeting on malaria held on the sidelines of the 30th AU summit at the AU headquarters in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa.
According to AU Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, malaria posed a multifaceted challenge to the African continent’s health, economic and social sectors.
He said Malaria still contributes a great negative impact to the continent’s state of affairs, and remains a major cause of poverty in Africa.
“We need to continue the global fight against malaria, particularly in Africa,” Mahamat stressed, urging AU member countries to commit to the fight against malaria.
Mahamat further stressed that the malaria epidemic trend in Africa has not a linear trajectory, in which the rate of malaria cases differentiate over the years.
Pedro Alonso, WHO Director of the Global Malaria Programme, also indicated that malaria remains a global health problem with over 216 million cases and some 445,000 deaths every year.
According to Alonso, even though malaria is a continental problem, some countries, such as Nigeria, have the largest share of cases in the African continent.
The WHO said, on the other hand, seven African countries, with less than 10,000 cases of malaria, could reduce transmission to zero by the year 2020.
Algeria is expected to be the first African country to be certified malaria free while some southern African countries are said to have the potential to follow Algeria.
