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African maritime regulators flay dumping of toxic waste at sea

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African maritime regulators flay dumping of toxic waste at sea

In a concerted effort to ensure that African Oceans are not overexploited and also not seen as a dumping ground for dangerous materials, participating countries at the just concluded conference of the Association of Heads of African Maritime Administrations have agreed on the need for population, assets and critical infrastructure protection from maritime pollution by prevention of dumping of toxic and nuclear wastes.

Dakuku-Peterside
Dr. Dakuku Peterside, Director General of NIMASA and chairman, African Maritime Administrators

This was contained in the communique of the association released at the weekend at the end of the conference, which held in Abuja, Nigeria.

The body of all administrators of maritime regulatory bodies came up with the position as one of the major ways to safeguard the future of maritime wealth in the continent alongside other pertinent positions.

Members of the association consequently agreed to devote concerted efforts and planning to pursue the enhancement of wealth creation and regional and international trade performance through maritime-centric capacity and capability building while ensuring the minimisation of environmental damage and expedited recovery from catastrophic events.

These they observed should be taken into cognisance as well as prevention of hostile and criminal acts at sea, by coordination/harmonisation of the prosecution of offenders and improvement of Integrated Coastal Zone/Area Management in Africa, if the continent is to grow maritime trade.

The conference, which had in attendance representatives from Mauritania, South Sudan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Comoros, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Benin, DR Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Kenya, Guinea, Libya and Nigeria as well as other non-African countries and International Associations such as Jamaica, Netherlands, Malaysia, IMO, Abuja MOU, PMAWCA, SOAN, NPA, NSC, NITT, NIWA, ASA, WIMA and FAO, also witnessed the election of the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, as the chairman of the association.

Dr. Peterside, who takes over from Sobantu Tilayi, the acting Chief Executive Officer of South African Maritime and Safety Agency, who has been the acting Chair of the association since 2013, stated that the task of leading the African Maritime Administrators is enormous but there is the need to collaborate with one another to ensure that the African Oceans and seas are not over exploited to the detriment of the continent.

Part of the Resolutions made at the conference enjoined all African countries to participate in the day set aside by the African Union (AU) as the African Day of Oceans and Seas.

“The African Union Commission has set aside 25th July of every year as Africa’s Day of the Seas and Oceans. Maritime Administrations are encouraged to institutionalise this day to raise awareness amongst stakeholders of the strategic importance of maritime governance for sustainable development; highlight the important role Africa needs to play at international maritime forum; raise awareness on Africa’s “Blue Economy” and enhance the focus on maritime safety, security, maritime environment protection and human element,” the Communique read.

In noting that capacity building had been a major challenge in the African Maritime sector, member nations agreed to address the enormous challenges of building human capacities in the maritime sector especially regarding training and employment of cadets by urging maritime Administrations to develop an integrated human resources strategy for the maritime sector to support the provision of skills taking into account gender balance in the entire maritime value chain which includes shipping and logistics, offshore activities, fishing, tourism and recreation, and safety and security (AIMS 2050).

Meanwhile, Tilayi, at the closing of the three-day event, described Peterside as a committed and dedicated technocrat that will, no doubt, take maritime administration to a higher level.

He pledged his support for the NIMASA Director General and urged other African Nations to do so likewise in order to advance the African Maritime Industry.

In a related development, President Muhammadu Buhari, who had also congratulated Peterside on his election as the chairman of AAMA, stated at the opening of the three-day conference that the Federal Government of Nigeria on its own part has paid significant attention to making the Nigerian maritime business environment a much friendlier one, adding that the immediate priority in this regard is the entry and exit of goods especially in Nigerian seaports to increase efficiency of Nigerian Ports and enable quick turnaround time of vessels.

Buhari, who was represented by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), said the Nigerian Government had recently approved a new maritime security architecture and infrastructure to be jointly coordinated by NIMASA, National Security Adviser and Federal Ministry of Transport. According to him, the Federal Government has given required support to the Navy so that they can work with others within our sub region to effectively police our waters for trade. This arrangement will also contribute to resolving and eliminating piracy as well as sea robbery in our maritime domain.

The President also used the opportunity to unveil the new NIMASA brand to usher in a new direction for the African Maritime Sector.

Nigeria has been elected Chairman of AAMA with 11 members’ executive committee comprising of representatives of Central Africa (Cameroun & Cape Verde), West Africa (Cote D’Ivoire & Ghana), East Africa (Tanzania & Comoros), Southern Africa (Mozambique and South Africa), North Africa (Egypt & Sudan) and Uganda representing Land-locked countries.

South Africa also retained Secretariat of the Association while the Association agreed to hold the 2018 Conference in Egypt. Sychelles and Namibia are jostling for the 2019 hosting rights.

AAMA also formally approved the Organisation of African Maritime Awards starting from Egypt 2018 to recognise and honor outstanding Africans in the sector.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Secretary General, Kitack Lim, who was represented by the head, Africa (Anglophone) Section Technical Cooperation Division of the IMO, William Azuh, observed that African continent needs to increase its level of vessel tonnage as well as develop the much needed maritime infrastructure, especially in terms of ship building and equipment to be able to effectively participate in the global shipping trade to the benefits of its citizenry.

Azuh charged the leadership of the association and indeed member states of the association to begin to develop the framework that would enable them take full advantage of the vast maritime potential embedded in the continent.

Malaria ravages U.S., healthcare costs skyrocket

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Malaria ravages U.S., healthcare costs skyrocket

According to researchers, Americans are traveling more often to countries with malaria but have stopped short of taking necessary precautions 

Malaria-anopheles
The malaria-causing anopheles mosquito feeding on a victim

Though transmission of malaria was wiped out in the United States decades ago and infections are falling in parts of the developing world, malaria hospitalisations and deaths in the U.S. appear to be far more common than generally appreciated as a steady stream of travelers returns home with the dangerous mosquito-borne disease.

This is the key finding from a new study published on Monday, April 24, 2017 in the “American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene” that shows malaria led to a count of hospitalised patients and deaths that easily eclipsed other travel-related illness and generated about half a billion dollars in healthcare costs in the U.S. over a 15-year period.

“It appears more and more Americans are traveling to areas where malaria is common and many of them are not taking preventive measures, such as using anti-malarial preventive medications and mosquito repellents, even though they are very effective at preventing infections,” said Diana Khuu, a scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the lead author of the study, which included contributions from the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Khuu and her colleagues looked for malaria patients in a database maintained by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) that tracks hospital admissions nationwide. The researchers found that between 2000 and 2014, about 22,000 people were admitted to U.S. hospitals due to complications from malaria. Moreover, 4,823 patients were diagnosed with severe malaria, which means they suffered from problems like renal failure, coma or acute respiratory distress that significantly increase the risk of death, and 182 of these patients died.

The study showed that malaria hospitalisations were more common in the U.S. than hospitalisations for many other travel-associated diseases. For example, during the same period, dengue fever, which is common in Mexico, Puerto Rico, and throughout Latin America, and has caused small, local outbreaks in south Florida and Texas, generated, on average, 259 hospitalisations a year compared with 1,489 for malaria.

According to the study, malaria hospitalisations are quite common in the U.S., and the associated burden from these cases is substantial. The researchers found that the average cost per patient was about $25,800 and that the total bill for treating malaria patients in the U.S. from 2000 to 2014 was about $555 million.

Overall, the scientists estimated that each year there are about 2,100 people in the U.S. suffering from malaria, since about 69 percent require hospital treatment. That case count would exceed the high end of the official CDC estimate of 1,500 to 2,000 cases per year. Khuu attributed the difference to the fact that CDC’s malaria count is based on reports submitted to the agency by hospitals or physicians, and hospital admission records that were used in her study may capture additional cases that have not been reported to CDC.

While those admissions’ records did not include travel history, the researchers believe the malaria infections they documented most likely were acquired during travel to parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where malaria is still common. Over the last 15 years a blitz of malaria interventions that include insecticide-treated bednets and increased access to highly effective malaria drugs has been accompanied by an estimated 37 percent drop in malaria incidence and a 60 percent drop in malaria deaths globally.

Meanwhile, although malaria was eliminated from the U.S. in the 1950s, there are sporadic reports of locally-acquired malaria infections, presumably caused by a mosquito that either fed on an infected traveler or hitched a ride on a flight or ship coming from a malaria-endemic region.

But Khuu noted that mosquitoes capable of carrying malaria are common in many parts of the U.S., and that increases in the number of travelers coming home with the disease increases the risk of malaria re-establishing itself in the U.S. According to the study, the majority of malaria hospitalisations occurred in the eastern U.S. in states along the Atlantic seaboard. Malaria’s last domestic stronghold was in the Southeast.

Also, the study found that men accounted for 60 percent of the malaria-related hospital admissions. The researchers believe the overrepresentation of males in the U.S. malaria count may indicate that men are less likely to seek travel advice or, when they do, less likely to adhere to recommendations for preventing infections, like taking an anti-malarial preventive medication and using a mosquito repellent.

The researchers noted that most of the deaths and severe disease appeared to be linked to infections with the malaria parasite known as Plasmodium falciparum, which is responsible for the vast majority of malaria deaths and severe disease worldwide. But the study found that in almost half of the malaria-related hospitalisations there was no indication of parasite type, though Khuu pointed out that information can be obtained via a relatively simple blood test.

Khuu noted that identifying the parasite causing the infection can be crucial for determining treatment and prognosis. For example, patients sickened by the P. vivax and P. ovale parasites can appear to be fully recovered. But unlike the case with P. falciparum malaria, the P. vivax and P. ovale parasites can enter a dormant stage and then, after treatment, re-emerge to cause a relapse of the disease. According to the CDC, preventing relapse requires both treating the acute infection and, in addition, a course of a drug called primaquine.

“Hospitalisations in the United States from malaria remind us that we live in an interconnected world,” said ASTMH President Patricia F. Walker. “For this reason, the U.S. must continue to invest in tropical medicine research efforts and programs, even for diseases like malaria that we don’t think of as American diseases. To get the job done, we need a strong NIH a strong CDC, and commitment to military research.”

Ghana, Kenya, Malawi selected for WHO malaria vaccine pilot programme

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Ghana, Kenya, Malawi selected for WHO malaria vaccine pilot programme

The World Health Organisation Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO) announced on Monday, April 24, 2017 in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, that Ghana, Kenya and Malawi will take part in a WHO-coordinated malaria vaccine implementation programme (MVIP) that will make the world’s first malaria vaccine available in selected areas, beginning in 2018.

Dr. Matshidiso Moeti
Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for Africa. Photo credit: pbs.twimg.com

The injectable vaccine, RTS,S, was developed to protect young children from the most deadly form of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum. RTS,S will be assessed in the pilot programme as a complementary malaria control tool that could potentially be added to the core package of WHO-recommended measures for malaria prevention.

“The prospect of a malaria vaccine is great news. Information gathered in the pilot programme will help us make decisions on the wider use of this vaccine,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Combined with existing malaria interventions, such a vaccine would have the potential to save tens of thousands of lives in Africa,” she added.

Africa bears the greatest burden of malaria worldwide. Global efforts in the last 15 years have led to a 62 percent reduction in malaria deaths between 2000 and 2015, yet approximately 429,000 people died of the disease in 2015, the majority of them young children in Africa.

The WHO pilot programme will assess whether the vaccine’s protective effect in children aged five to 17 months old during Phase 3 testing can be replicated in real-life. Specifically, the pilot programme will assess the feasibility of delivering the required four doses of RTS,S, the vaccine’s potential role in reducing childhood deaths, and its safety in the context of routine use.

 

WHO recommendations and RTS,S
 RTS,S was developed by GSK and is the first malaria vaccine to have successfully completed a Phase 3 clinical trial. The trial was conducted between 2009 and 2014 through a partnership involving GSK, the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), and a network of African research sites in seven African countries – including Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi.

RTS,S is also the first malaria vaccine to have obtained a positive scientific opinion from a stringent medicines regulatory authority, the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The opinion indicated that, in EMA’s assessment, the quality of the vaccine and its risk-benefit profile was favorable from a regulatory perspective.

In October 2015, two independent WHO advisory groups, comprised of the world’s foremost experts on vaccines and malaria, recommended pilot implementation of RTS,S in three to five settings in sub-Saharan Africa. The recommendation came from the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunisation and the Malaria Policy Advisory Committee (MPAC), following a joint review of all available evidence on the vaccine’s safety and efficacy. WHO formally adopted the recommendation in January 2016.

 

Pilot implementation

The three countries were selected to participate in the pilot programme based on the following criteria: high coverage of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs); well-functioning malaria and immunisation programmes, a high malaria burden even after scale-up of LLINs, and participation in the Phase 3 RTS,S malaria vaccine trial. Each of the three countries will decide on the districts and regions to be included in the pilots. High malaria burden areas will be prioritised, as this is where the benefit of the vaccine is predicted to be highest. Information garnered from the pilot will help to inform later decisions about potential wider use of the vaccine.

The malaria vaccine will be administered via intramuscular injection and delivered through the routine national immunisation programmes. WHO is working with the three countries to facilitate regulatory authorisation of the vaccine for use in the pilots through the African Vaccine Regulatory Forum (AVAREF). Regulatory support will also include measures to enable the appropriate safety monitoring of the vaccine and rigorous evaluation for eventual large scale use.

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and UNITAID are partnering to provide $49.2 million for the first phase of the pilot programme (2017-2020), which will be complemented by in-kind contributions from WHO and GSK.

Nigeria concretises disaster risk reduction blueprints

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Nigeria concretises disaster risk reduction blueprints

Three blueprints relating to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) have been authenticated, courtesy of a gathering of diverse government and private sector stakeholders, who rose from a two-day validation workshop that held from Thursday, April 20 to Friday, April 21 2017 in Keffi, Nasarawa State, at the instance of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

NEMA-UNDP
A view of participants at the Validation Workshop

The documents include:

  • National Plan of Action for the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030)
  • Structure and framework for the National Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction
  • National Policy on Disaster Risk Reduction

At the workshop, relevant stakeholders present made inputs and observations in the bid to validate the three documents that had been completed and submitted by consultants.

As part of the Eighth Country Programme of the Federal Government of Nigeria / UNDP Plan of Action, NEMA developed these policy documents in collaboration with the UN agency.

The draft National Plan of Action for the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030) emerged following a meeting held in February 2017 in Abuja.

Among the resolutions of the meeting was the need to set up a technical committee to produce a working structure for the National Platform. Another resolution was the need to develop a National Programme of Action for the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030).

Also, following the requirements of the Priority 2 of the SFA 2015-2030 on the need for a National Policy on DRR to guide the implementation of action plans, Nigeria hired the services of a consultant with support of the UNDP to develop a National Policy on DRR for the country.

Speaking at the event, Director General of NEMA, Mustapha Yinusa Maihaja, expressed optimism that, at the end of the day, Nigeria would have in place “validated policy document, implementable action plan and workable structure for the National Platform that meet requirements of the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Management”.

According to him, Nigeria instituted the National Platform for DRR in 2010 as an off-shoot of the global platform for DRR, which was first held in 2007. The fifth session will hold next month in Mexico.

“At a similar meeting of African countries, the Sixth Session of Africa Regional Platform on DRR was hosted by Mauritius on November 22-25, 2016,” said Maihaja, who is an engineer.

United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, reaffirmed the belief of the UNDP in the crucial role of a fully functional National Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction in Nigeria.

“This meeting as well as others held previously will reposition and revitalise the platform towards the development of a Programme of Action for the Sendai Framework, strengthen the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and SEMAs, while laying a good foundation for better multi-stakeholder response and management of disasters in the country,” he said.

Kallon, who is also the Resident Representative of the UNDP Nigeria, commended the resuscitation of the platform by NEMA, which he said is coming on the heels of the Africa regional meeting in Malabo. He described the development as a clear indication of “Nigeria’s strong commitment to the regional outcomes and the leading role it is playing in Africa.”

His words: “It is expected that the platform will leverage the momentum from the regional platform to articulate a national plan of action, national implementation plan for the Sendai Framework as inputs into the upcoming meeting in Mexico.”

During the Keffi workshop, sessions and presentations were anchored by Soji Adeniyi, Linda Akpami and Seth PTA. Some of the presentations included: “Presentation and consideration of recommendations for review structure of the national Platform for DRR”, “Presentation and consideration of the National Plan of Action for the implementation of the Sendai Framework”, “Presentation on data management for development planning and data integration strategies”, “Presentation and consideration of National Policy for DRR” and “Update and plans to finalise preparedness planning process”.

The Sendai Framework is an international document which was adopted by UN member states between 14th and 18th of March 2015 at the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai, Japan and endorsed by the UN General Assembly in June 2015. It is the successor agreement to the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005–2015), which had been the most encompassing international accord to date on disaster risk reduction.

It is a 15-year voluntary, non-binding agreement which recognises that the State has the primary role to reduce disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders including local government, the private sector and other stakeholders

World Earth Day: Nations stand up for science

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World Earth Day: Nations stand up for science

On a rainy Earth Day on Saturday, April 22, 2017 in Washington DC – on the 47th anniversary of Earth Day and the one-year anniversary of the Paris Climate Accord – tens of thousands of scientists, students, environmental activists and families concerned about a viable future for their children turned out on the National Mall as part of a worldwide protest to defend science and facts, and fight against a series of government moves that refute scientific evidence.

Earth-Day-Science
Crowd at the event presented by Earth Day Network in Washington DC

U.S. President Donald Trump recently released budget proposal that outlines $54 billion in cuts across government programmes that support science-based policy and research to make way for increases in defence spending.

In the U.S., the huge crowd at the event presented by Earth Day Network in Washington DC was mirrored by demonstrations and marches in cities like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver, Austin, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco and many more.

Globally, demonstrators in Australia kicked off the day of protest. In Sydney, marchers carried banners with slogans such as “Science makes sense.” In New Zealand, activists in Wellington, Auckland, Dunedin and Christchurch took part. Marches were also held in Durban and Cape Town, South Africa, and in Tokyo.

Across Europe, marches took place in UK, France, Ireland, Finland, Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands.

From the Vatican, Pope Francis tweeted, “Lord, bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may sow beauty not pollution and destruction.”

Over 600 Earth Day rallies and marches for science were counted, but the true number may have been many more, according to observers.

“Hell has no fury like a scientist whose integrity is questioned,” said Kathleen Rogers, president of the Earth Day Network. “These folks aren’t making hundreds of millions of dollars. They’re not billionaires. They’re working at government rates so to speak. They are giving their lives to their work and have one thing to hang on to – the truth and their integrity.”

“It’s not just lab people, but everyone from computer programmers to people working on cancer,” she added. “All these people, they’re not happy being called liars.”

The March for Science has been described as a celebration of the passion for science and the many ways science serves communities and the world. The March for Science is an unprecedented global gathering of scientists and science enthusiasts joining together to acknowledge the vital role science plays in peoples’ lives and the need to respect and encourage research that gives an insight into the world.

World Earth Day: Groups emphasise climate education, waste-to-wealth sensitisation

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World Earth Day: Groups emphasise climate education, waste-to-wealth sensitisation

Nigeria over the weekend joined the rest of the world to observe the 2017 edition of the World Earth Day.

Climate-Aid
Participants at the Climate Aid event to observe the 2017 World Earth Day

The Earth Day is a global event observed on April 22 to demonstrate and promote environmental awareness and calls for the protection of planet Earth. The theme for Earth Day 2017 is “Environmental and climate literacy”.

According to observers, climate change is the most important public policy issue by reason of its negative impacts on economies, social lives, health and the future of children. They note that landmark Paris Agreement reached in December 2015 commits all countries to holding global temperature rise to “well below 2 degrees Celsius”.

“This feat will require economy-wide global and national transformations. A robust, multi-sector response will be a key component of this solution to pivot societies toward a more sustainable future for all – the future we want,” says Oluwatosin Kolawole, President of Climate Aid, a Lagos-based not-for-profit organisation.

He describes climate education is an essential element of the global response to climate change, pointing out that it helps young people understand and address the impact of global warming, encourages changes in their attitudes and behaviour and empowers them adapt to climate change-related trends.

Consequent upon that and in commemoration of Earth Day 2017, Climate Aid, in collaboration with other not-for-profit organisations such as Environmental Law Research Institute (ELRI), Nigerian Environmental Rights Advocacy Group (NERAG), Green Intelligence, Nature Protection and Environmental Improvement Initiative (NAPEIIN) and GreenEducate, with technical supports from the Centre for Environmental Studies of the Lagos State University (LASU), Centre for Planning Studies LASU, Parks and Gardens Unit LASU, and the faculty of social sciences, on Friday, April 21, 2017 hosted out a climate literacy training among 195 students, as well as a tree planting exercise around the campus.

“Students who participated were quite excited to take further actions in preservation their environment,” stated Mr. Kolawole, adding that while the Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency (LASPARK) provided the tree seedlings that were planted, the tree planting activity was led by the Vice Chancellor of LASU.

He discloses that, in furtherance of the group’s Earth Day 2017 celebration, Climate Aid will visit the University of Lagos, Akoka on Thursday, April 27, 2017. He lists proposed lines of events to include: climate literacy workshop, Nature walks around the campus, and tree planting around the campus and the lagoon front.

“The Objective of our works is to raise climate change awareness among the students, and equip them with the right knowledge and tools to build their resilience to the impacts that climate change pose to their future,” Kolawole states.

Similarly, the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), in collaboration with some environmental not-for-profit organisations on Saturday, April 22, 2017 organised a sensitisation programme to educate Abuja residents on how to convert waste to wealth. The sensitisation programme was organised to commemorate the 2017 World Earth Day.

Mrs Dora Laniyi, Executive Director, Abuja Green Class, explained that celebrating the World Earth Day yearly was meant to send message across on the importance of the earth to human being.

Laniyi regretted that the natural earth resources had been destroyed instead of protecting them, thereby making the earth to become unfriendly to man.

Mr Amara Nwankpa, Director, Public Policy Initiative, Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua Foundation and a guest speaker, said Nigeria was one of the countries most affected when it comes to a climate change issue.

Nwankpa explained that this was partly due to Sahara Desert encroachment which has extended into the country because the natural resources are not protected.

Mrs Nwal Fakhry, Manager, Environmental/Conservation, African Community Bridge Foundation (ACBF), who spoke on converting trash to cash, described improper handling of waste as a threat to the environment.

Fakhry added that waste was also a contributory factor to the climate change, adding that ACBF was established to create awareness on how to convert waste to wealth.

Mrs Omolola Olanipekun, Acting Director, AEPB, expressed delight on the response of FCT residents to the sensitisation programme.

Represented by Mr Muktar Ibrahim, the Head of Information and Outreach Unit of AEPB, she said the earth was no more human friendly because its ingredients had been destroyed by man.

Olanipekun identified noise pollution, gas emission, green house effects, erosion, receding of rivers as major human factors contributing to climate change.

World Earth Day: How thirsty Africa can save water, by firm

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World Earth Day: How thirsty Africa can save water, by firm

A German brand in sanitary fittings, GROHE, on Saturday, April 22, 2017 commemorated the World Earth Day through its commitment to innovative design with a focus on sustainability. In keeping with this year’s theme for Earth Day: environmental and climate literacy, GROHE provided key tips for saving water, especially in Africa.

water-lagos
According to WaterAid, 57 million people in Nigeria don’t have access to safe water. Photo credit: vanguardngr.com

Statistics published by international development organisation WaterAid show that 695 million people out of the 1.2 billion total population of Africa are surviving without basic sanitation and 395 million people are without clean water. With Africa’s population projected to be 2.2 billion by 2030, only 32% of sub-Saharan Africans will have access to sanitation by 2030.

According to WASHwatch, the collaborative monitoring platform set up by WaterAid, 57 million people in Nigeria don’t have access to safe water, over 130 million people don’t have access to adequate sanitation which is two third of the population and around 45,000 children under five years old die every year from diarrhea caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation.

For GROHE, sustainability is a corporate value with a tradition and a future. GROHE has developed a wide portfolio of advanced product technologies and launched also a series of awareness campaigns and programs to change mindsets and habits.

Since 2009, GROHE has launched the Green Mosque Initiative in many countries, whereby the company partners with local entities to install water-efficient products in the ablution rooms of mosques to help the respective regions achieve sustainable reduction in water consumption. Muslim worshipers’ ritual ablutions consume between 10 and 15 litres of water per day. Every possibility to save water therefore has a great impact on consumption. As mosques play an important role in people’s day-to-day lives.

The initiative has reduced water consumption for the cleansing rituals by roughly 30 percent which is good for the environment and helps cut costs.

“Water saving taps and showers and water saving flush systems are two of the main ways that everyday citizens can contribute to protecting the environment, and sustainability is one of the core values and a top priority in the creation of every GROHE product for bathrooms and from the design to development stages,” says Mohammed Ataya, Vice President of GROHE Egypt, North and West Africa.

Mr. Ataya adds that “quality materials, first-class design and advanced engineering all play an important role in saving water. For example, the group’s hand showers feature either an integrated flow limiter, or an Eco button or spray dimmer which lets you chooses when to reduce the water flow.”

GROHE agrees with the Earth Day ethos that everyone needs to be empowered with the knowledge and the products to inspire action and protect the environment.

The individual choice to reduce water consumption is only one of the many strategies needed to address the issue of water scarcity but it gives each person a role to play in protecting the planet.

Study warns stroke rates rising in young adults

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Study warns stroke rates rising in young adults

The rate of stroke among young people has apparently been rising steadily since 1995, according to a study published recently. Hospitalisation rates for stroke increased for women between the ages of 18 and 44, and nearly doubled for men in that age range from 1995 through 2012.

Stroke
The Ischemic stroke

A stroke is the sudden death of brain cells due to lack of oxygen, caused by blockage of blood flow or rupture of an artery to the brain. Sudden loss of speech, weakness, or paralysis of one side of the body can be symptoms.

Using more-detailed data for 2003 through 2012, the researchers found that rates of hospitalisations for acute ischemic stroke increased by nearly 42 percent for men 35 to 44, while rates for women of the same age group increased by 30 percent over the same time, the study published in the JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Across all adults, including those in older age ranges, stroke was the fifth leading cause of death in 2013. Overall mortality rates from strokes have significantly decreased over the past 50 years due to multiple factors, including better treatment for hypertension and increased use of aspirin, even as incidence of acute ischemic stroke among young adults has been on the rise.

The study also looked at stroke risk factors and whether there were any changes in their prevalence from 2003 to 2012. The likelihood of having three or more of five common risk factors – diabetes, hypertension, lipid disorders, obesity and tobacco use – doubled in men and women hospitalised for acute ischemic strokes.

“The identification of increasing hospitalisation rates for acute ischemic stroke in young adults coexistent with increasing prevalence of traditional stroke risk factors confirms the importance of focusing on prevention in younger adults,” said Mary George, the lead author of the report and deputy associate director for science and senior medical officer in the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Researchers used data from the National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample, a large and nationally representative administrative database of hospital discharge information.

The researchers hypothesise that hospitalisation rates kept increasing with time because stroke risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity have been increasing in the general population.

“The high and increasing rate of traditional stroke risk factors among young adults experiencing an acute stroke is quite worrisome,” George said.

The results reinforce the need for physicians to monitor patients for risk factors such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol and treat them early. Young adults and their health-care professional should have discuss engaging in healthy behaviors throughout their lives, such as eating a healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, being physically active, maintaining a healthy weight, and if they smoke then what steps they should take to quit, George said.

“Most people think that having a stroke is something that only happens to older people, but the impact of stroke is significant – it is uniquely complex in younger adults, in midst of careers, serving as wage earners and caregivers, who may suffer disability that can impact their lives and the lives of family members and loved ones,” George said.

Previous studies have looked at how stroke rates have increased in young adults, but this was a larger study that looked over a longer period of time, said Diana Greene-Chandos, a neurologist and director of neuroscience critical care at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Centre who was not part of the study.

“It showed us that not only was there an increase but also an increase that was associated with common risk factors in stroke,” she said. “It is an important call to us as stroke neurologists and critical-care neurologists to start to study this more and more because of the way it was done. There are some limitations to it, but I think that it’s enough good data that we should start to spend more of our resources in looking at this.”

By Jia Naqvi, The Washington Post

SDGs: How Nigeria can remain committed, focused, by Fadina

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SDGs: How Nigeria can remain committed, focused, by Fadina

Against the backdrop of government’s recent ratifying of the Paris Climate Agreement, an environmentalist and climate change negotiator has listed a set of next-steps to ensure that Nigeria keeps to her commitment on compliance to the world order, especially as it relates to sustainable development.

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Prince Lekan Fadina (right) with Eric Torres, a Director and Facilitator of ISOS Group in USA, a pioneering corporate responsibility and sustainability consultancy firm that helps drive sustainability for the world’s most innovative brands. Mr Torres was on a visit to CISME Centre in Lekki, Lagos State, on Tuesday, April 4, 2017 to discuss collaboration and co-operation in the spirit of North-South collaboration. He had useful meetings and interactions with CISME officials, who he commended for their leadership role and global recognition

Prince Lekan Fadina, head of the Lagos-based Centre for Investment, Sustainable Development, Management and Environment (CISME),  in a presentation titled: “Setting the tone: An evolution of sustainable development – Nigeria context” and delivered on Monday, March 3, 2017 at the GRI Standards Training Programme in Lagos, wants the country to:

  • Accept that the content of the Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have set the scene, they have become narratives and as such we must key into the sustainability trends which make Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) an important globally adopted framework.
  • Recognise that access to global funds and investment opportunities now demand companies to manage their environmental impacts incorporate the sustainability indicators into their projects and provide investors with information on Climate Change and Sustainable Development.
  • Look at all the elements we have learnt from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the gaps that are there and what we need for a transformation agenda.
  • Understand the means of implementation, funding, capacity building, technology, human capital, institutional transformation, attitudinal change and co-operation.
  • Ensure buy-in through implementable legislation and participation of all the arms of government-legislative, executive and judiciary.
  • Address the accountability framework for NDC and SDGs that look at shared responsibility to deliver the Agenda of carbon reduction. This Programme set the way to that path.
  • Urgently push for clean energy innovation. This is one of the recommendations of the International Agency in its released- Energy Technology Report (Technology Perspectives 2015 (ETP2015).
  • Government and private sector must shift their focus to lowcarbon technologies and investment.
  • The climate-focused service and production demand new knowledge and new approach

Fadina, a member of the Africa Group of Negotiators (AGN) as well as the AGN Finance Co-ordination Committee, stresses that opportunities abound for enlightened businesses willing to stand up and address inherent development-related challenges.

His words: “We must act quickly, decisively and collectively to ensure a fairer and more prosperous world for all of us. Nigeria cannot afford to be lukewarm to the challenge of sustainability and the need to mainstream green path approach to its development.

“I am aware that a Committee was set up recently on the implementation of the SDGs. We humbly suggest that, in view of the potential threat that the green development approach could pose to an economy that is heavily dependent on fossil fuel, we need to intensify the diversification of our economy. The green economy provides a good opportunity to encourage public private partnerships as well as the involvement of nongovernmental organisations in the process.

“Globalisation, the Paris Climate Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals and other initiatives have introduced many challenges. They have made sustainable development an imperative not an option. There is the need to build skills, knowledge, invest in education and change the mindset to ensure proper utilisation of resources and meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future. We must all, government, private sector, multinational organisations, and developing partners join hands to face the challenge of creating a better world and improved sustainable livelihood of our people.

“We as custodians of nature resources will be judged by future generations by what we do. This Seminar on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is the path to achieving the goal of sustainable development. It must be emphasised that reporting, disclosure and accountability are veritable tools for monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV). The Paris Climate Agreement expects each country to keep to her commitment she signed and ratified on the National Determined Contribution (NDC) to limit her carbon emission.”

Post-COP22: African civil society examines role, readiness

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Post-COP22: African civil society examines role, readiness

One of the key outcomes of the 22nd Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP22) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that held last year in Marrakech, Morocco was the establishment of a new transparency fund with the injection of some $50 million by some developed countries, to encourage transparency efforts in the fight against climate change.

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Samuel Ogallah Samson of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA)

African civil society organisations under the aegis of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) to that effect organised an African regional Post-COP22 sensitisation workshop in Kampala, Uganda, from April 19-21, 2017 to examine the readiness of African countries and improve on the momentum towards the fund project.

It was also geared at seeking to expand participation, broadening efforts to build partnership with government and other stakeholders, breaking from the past to build stronger and global resilience.

According to Sam Ogallah of PACJA, the sensitisation on the cardinality of the GCF was imperative to measure the readiness and highlight the role of civil society organisations in the funding project.

“Civil society organisations have to be accorded the opportunity to be abreast with the operational modalities of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to permit them fully participate in the entire project process and also push their governments to make proposals adapted to the realities of their different countries,” Ogallah said.

Participants during one of the sessions examined the goal, objectives, activities and implementation strategies of the GCF, the climate finance process at national and international level within the UNFCCC.

Also examined was the outcome and decisions of the just ended 16th Board Meeting of the GCF and the way forward especially for civil society organisations.

According to participants, the GCF was in line with the Paris agreement in COP21. The Paris Agreement implementation, they said, should go hand-in-glove with the 2030 Agenda as well as the AU Agenda 2063, “a process which should take the bottom-up approach, be inclusive and transparent.”

It was also noted that the involvement of all stakeholders including government, civil society, development partners, the private sector, youths and women was not only necessary but imperative to drive the agenda to a success.

“It is a partnership of many facets in development in every country,” says Rebecca Muna, a civil society representative. The participation of the different stakeholders, she says, signals the willingness of countries to understand and undertake climate actions that go beyond adaptation and victory for African countries.

Courtesy: PAMACC News Agency

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