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East Africa’s healthcare capacity gets $14.7 million boost

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East Africa’s healthcare capacity gets $14.7 million boost

Sub-Saharan Africa will need to create an average of 15-20 million new jobs per year over the next three decades to meet the current growth

General Electric (GE) on Thursday in Nairobi, Kenya announced a series of new commitments aimed at addressing some of the most critical health challenges in East Africa through a sustained focus on skills development and capacity building. The disclosure comes ahead of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi.

Farid Fezoua, President & CEO of GE Healthcare. Photo credit: capitalfm.co.ke
Farid Fezoua, President & CEO of GE Healthcare Africa. Photo credit: capitalfm.co.ke

Among the investments, GE announced: 1. The establishment of the GE Healthcare Skills and Training Institute in Kenya, GE’s first-ever dedicated healthcare skills advancement centre in Africa; and 2. A $1.7 million GE Foundation grant for Biomedical Equipment Training and Safe Surgery programmes in Ethiopia.

As outlined in the GE Africa Future of Work White Paper, launched on Thursday, entitled, Building Strong Workforces to Power Africa’s Growth, sub-Saharan Africa will need to create an average of 15-20 million new jobs per year over the next three decades to meet the current growth, presenting a considerable challenge to the labour market given the low rates of formal employment.

Moreover, the global health sector, especially in developing markets, is facing critical workforce shortages, with Africa ranking the lowest in the availability of health personnel. With 12% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s burden of diseases, sub-Saharan Africa has only 3% of the world’s health workforce. According to the White Paper, the African urbanisation story underscores the need for governments and their partners to invest aggressively in enhancing skills.

Farid Fezoua, President & CEO of GE Healthcare Africa, said, “Investing in the training and education of healthcare professionals to strengthen capability building is one of the greatest enablers for sustainable healthcare development. GE Healthcare’s education strategy integrates technology and localisation in the design and deployment of tailored education solutions including the establishment of new healthcare training centers, locally configured curricula and a range of education partnerships with leading regional academic institutions and global partners. As a major force for change, we aim to increase access to localised education, training and skills development programmes for more healthcare workers across Africa.”

 

GE Healthcare Skills and Training Institute, Kenya

Selected in February 2015 as a key technology and solutions partner by the Kenyan Ministry of Health (MoH) as part of its $420 million healthcare transformation plan, GE is committed to supporting knowledge-sharing and capacity building in Kenya and across East Africa. As a cornerstone of the mega-modernisation programme, GE will launch the new GE Healthcare Skills and Training Institute in Kenya, representing a long-term investment of at least $13 million over the next 10 years.

With specialised GE Healthcare training facilities across the globe, the centre is set to become GE’s first dedicated skills development facility in Africa when inaugurated in Nairobi later in Q4 2015 that will serve Kenya and the wider East Africa.

The GE Healthcare Skills and Training Institute will initially offer biomedical and clinical applications training courses and over the longer-term will be expanded to offer leadership, technical and clinical education courses, working with the MoH, private healthcare providers and other educational partners, with the goal to train over 1,000 healthcare professionals over the next three years.

In East Africa, where there is a significant shortage of qualified healthcare professionals, the localisation of vocational and leadership training courses aims to support the development of a pipeline of future biomedical engineers, radiologists and technicians, helping to reduce the skills gap, improve job prospects and build a solid national healthcare system and private healthcare sector.

The Kenya training centre is part of GE Healthcare’s global commitment to invest over $1 billion in the development and delivery of localised offerings for the healthcare sector, including a new class of technology-enabled training solutions by 2020. Moreover, as part of this commitment, GE Healthcare aims to deliver enhanced training for over two million health professionals globally that is expected to help healthcare systems drive better patient outcomes and benefit more than 350 million patients worldwide by 2020.

 

Ethiopia Biomedical Equipment Training (BMET) Centre of Excellence

GE Foundation’s first Biomedical Equipment Training (BMET) programme in Ethiopia responds to the shortage of skilled healthcare workers and functional medical equipment. The BMET Centre of Excellence (COE) builds on the success of prior BMET programming in Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Honduras and Cambodia and expands the commitment by creating a COE within a hospital setting to translate learning to actual work processes.

The COE “workshop” will set a benchmark for hands-on training and process replication, further strengthening healthcare systems. Training participants will benefit from a well-rounded curriculum including professional management and customer service skills, in-hospital clinical application, asset management and financial reporting skills and professional development.

This three-year programme grant will help fund the development of the training to educate biomedical technicians in Ethiopia to respond to the shortage of functional medical equipment, by focusing on repairing – not replacing – equipment using available resources. Programmes such as these can help local hospitals increase availability of medical equipment – such as incubators for infants – by up to 43% in some cases.

 

Safe Surgery Programme in Ethiopia

With a significant training component, the GE Foundation commitment to improving safe surgery in Ethiopia will be delivered through a new partnership with Lifebox, a non-governmental organisation focused on implementation of the WHO Safe Surgical Checklist. This programme aims to standardise safe surgery by increasing access to and quality of surgery, reducing surgical complications, and preventing patient deaths in the region.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the programme will help develop a surgical operating standards programme to serve as a pilot for a country-wide intervention, with local champions from surgical, anesthesia, and nursing backgrounds serving as programme leaders. The programme will also provide guidance, and help coordinate the implementation of safe surgical standards with a focus on localisation. The ultimate goal of the partnership is to expand country-wide through collaboration with local partners including ministries, NGOs, professional societies, teaching institutions, and peer-to-peer networks.

“Safe Surgery has long been a neglected area of global health, and universal access to an essential set of surgical procedures would prevent 1.5 million deaths around the world every year,” said Dr. David Barash, Executive Director, Global Health Portfolio, and Chief Medical Officer, GE Foundation. “It’s tragic that millions of people are dying from common, easily treated conditions like appendicitis, fractures or obstructed labor because they do not have access to proper surgical care. We are especially pleased to launch this partnership focused on access to safe surgery with Lifebox, given their success implementing the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist, leading to a nearly 60% reduction in the total number of perioperative complications in low-resource settings.”

This programme grant will be delivered over 18 months, focusing on a Centre of Excellence for health worker training, leadership development, improvement in Safe Surgery Standards compliance, and create guidelines for measuring surgical site infections, postoperative mortality, and other complications.

Earlier this year, the GE Foundation participated in the launch of a major new Commission on safe surgery published in The Lancet. The Commission notes that five billion people worldwide do not have access to safe and affordable surgery and anesthesia when they need it, and access is worst in low- and lower-middle income countries, where as many as nine out of ten people cannot access basic surgical care. The GE Foundation Biomedical Equipment Technician (BMET) training programme was highlighted in the Commission as a “best in class” model for sustainable training.

Farmers can double cassava yield with improved weed control

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Farmers can double cassava yield with improved weed control

Preliminary results from experimental plots carried out by researchers working under the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) led Cassava Weed Management Project show that by switching to improved weed management practices, Nigerian cassava farmers can double current national average yield of 12-13 tons per hectare.

Freshly harvested cassava tubers. Photo credit: thisdayonline
Freshly harvested cassava tubers. Photo credit: thisdayonline

The current national average yield of cassava puts the yield per stand of cassava plant at 1.2-1.3 kg.

However, recent harvest from trial plots recorded a breakthrough as a single cassava stand at Igbariam in Anambra State produced 34 kilograms roots.

“Elsewhere our preliminary results show that average national yield of 20-39 tons per hectare is achievable if farmers can simply adopt and use improved weed management practices,” said Dr Alfred Dixon, Project Leader for the Cassava Weed Management Project.

“The results we are seeing in the field reinforce the fact that weeds are a major factor limiting yield and eliminating them (weeds) from cassava can help African farmers benefit more from the investments in research,” he added.

Researchers estimate that in uncontrolled fields, weeds wreak havoc on cassava pulling down about 80 per cent of cassava yield. Women farmers who bear the brunt of keeping cassava farms weed free in most cases end up with backaches.

Dr Adeyemi Olojede, who is the Coordinator from the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) Umudike, described the results as “great.”

“Nothing special was done to the cassava fields. All we did was to ensure the fields were without weeds,” he said.

Though weed control is a major bottleneck to cassava production, it has never gained desired attention as compared to pest and diseases of livestock.

Prof Friday Ekeleme, Principal Investigator, Cassava Weed Management Project observed that weed control in cassava is a major constraint to productivity because the crop is left for a long time in the field usually 9-12 months before harvest. Farmers therefore have no other choice than to control weeds over this long period of time to keep the farms free of weeds.

“Also the spacing of cassava usually 1 meter by 1 meter leaves enough space for weeds to grow and compete with cassava for nutrients, water and light,” he said.

The results of the harvest from the first year experiment have revved up excitement among the Project team members with strong indications that some of the technologies would be transferred to farmers next year.

“These results are promising. Similar experiments are being conducted this year for validity. Definitely we will be in the field next year working with our partners (the Agricultural Development Programs) to extend the knowledge on improved weed management,” said Godwin Atser, Communication & Knowledge Exchange Expert for the Cassava Weed Management Project.

WHO: 10% of global population suffer from mental disorder

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WHO: 10% of global population suffer from mental disorder

A World Health Organisation (WHO) report released in Geneva, Switzerland has revealed that 10 per cent of global population suffer from mental disorder amid insufficient workforce.

Mental illness. Photo credit: troymedia.com
Mental illness. Photo credit: troymedia.com

The WHO Mental Health Atlas 2014 report says it is an indication that there is less than one mental health worker per 10,000 people worldwide.

The orgainsation’s statistics also shows that one in four people is affected by mental health disorder at some point in their lives.

It added that this was amid predictions which indicated that depression would be the leading cause of global disease burden by 2030.

The WHO said suicide, which was the second most common cause of death among young people, affects some 900,000 people every year worldwide.

It said the figures showed that 75 per cent of those suffering from severe mental disorder received no treatment.

Underlining the prevailing inequalities in access to mental health services, the WHO Mental Health Atlas 2014 highlighted that global spending remained insufficient and lower-middle income countries spend less than two dollars per capita per year on this sector.

It said this was in comparison to over $50 spent per person annually in high-income countries.

The report noted that the disparity was also evident in the unequal access to services, showing that in low and lower-middle income countries, an average of five mental health beds per 100,000 people were provided, compared to 50 beds in high-income countries.

According to the report, not one low-income country reported having a national suicide prevention strategy, compared to one third of high-income countries.

The organisation said 80 per cent of countries would have developed or updated their policies or plans for mental health according to human rights instruments, in line with its 2020 targets.

It said as a result of this, a 20 per cent increase in service coverage for severe mental disorders would be observed.

It said the mental health action plan would also seek to reduce suicide rates by 10 per cent, ensure that 80 per cent of countries routinely collect and report mental health indicators every two years.

It noted that the action plan would also guarantee that half of the countries developed and updated their mental health legislation.

Testing for malaria reduces over prescription by over 70%

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Testing for malaria reduces over prescription by over 70%

Introducing rapid diagnostic tests in Ugandan drug shops improves treatment of malaria patients

The mosquito, a malaria vector
The mosquito, a malaria vector

Using malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) in registered drug shops in a highly endemic region in Uganda substantially reduced over diagnosis of malaria, improving the use of valuable malaria drugs, according to a new study published in PLOS ONE.

Most of the 15,000 patients that visited drug shops with a fever chose to buy an RDT when offered one by the trained vendors taking part in the study. Once they performed the test, results showed that less than 60% of the patients had, in fact, malaria. The vendors usually complied with the test results, reducing over prescription of malaria drugs by 73%.

The researchers from the Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) Consortium at the Ministry of Health in Uganda and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in the UK carried out the study because up to 80% of malaria cases in Uganda are treated in the private sector.

The private sector is a common source of treatment in many other malaria-endemic areas, especially where there is poor access to public health facilities. Patients buy antimalarial drugs in shops to medicate themselves, although malaria is not always the cause of their fever, and thus inappropriate treatment is very common.

Prof. Anthony Mbonye from the Ugandan Ministry of Health and lead author of the study, said: “Our findings show that it is feasible to collaborate with the private health sector and introduce malaria RDTs in drug shops. The next step is to refine the strategy and understand the cost implications of scaling it up in Uganda. Our long term aim is to provide evidence to help the World Health Organisation develop guidance to improve malaria treatment in the private sector.”

Dr Sian Clarke from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, also a principal investigator in the research, said: “This study shows that RDTs can improve the use of ACTs – the most effective treatment for malaria – in drug shops, but it’s not without its challenges. These tests alone will not improve the treatment of other diseases. We now need to continue working with the Ministry of Health to investigate how to improve our approach and expand it to other common illnesses.”

At present, drug shop vendors usually treat patients based on their signs and symptoms without testing their blood for the presence of malaria parasites, as recommended by the World Health Organization. This can result in patients with a fever being over diagnosed with malaria and purchasing an ACT which they don’t need.

Microscopy is a method that requires laboratory equipment and qualified staff, while RDTs are alternative, simple tools that require minimal training to diagnose malaria. These rapid tests can help health workers and vendors in remote locations to prescribe the correct treatment for malaria.

An investigation conducted alongside the trial, published in Critical Public Health, found that despite their popularity, malaria tests were not a simple fix in the private sector. Patients welcomed the RDTs as well as government involvement in improving drug shops, and vendors “felt big” and more akin to qualified health workers in the public sector for being allowed to test blood. But researchers warn that this could give a false impression of vendors’ other skills and services, and regulation by authorities is needed.

The team have recently received a new grant to investigate the feasibility of training and equipping registered drug shops to manage three key childhood diseases: malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea.

The ACT Consortium is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Ocean surge: We’ve no place to go, lament Okun-Alfa residents

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Ocean surge: We’ve no place to go, lament Okun-Alfa residents
A flooded street in the community
A flooded street in the community

Kayode Aboyeji attempts to capture the challenges faced by residents of Okun-Alfa, a coastal community in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State, which the Atlantic Ocean is threatening to wash away

When 56-year-old Lukuman Olowu was a teenager in the 1970s, it was fun to play under the palm trees that beautify the beach, with the cool and refreshing sea breeze that accompanied the waves. But all of that is gone now, no thanks to the unrelenting surges that have wiped off all these nature’s endowment.

Olowu shakes his head in amazement and disbelief at the transformation which, over the decades, the community was helpless to halt. Then he spotted the Community Health Post, or what is left of it. The facility was commissioned in 1999 to provide primary health care for the people. Battered as a result of flooding from countless ocean surges, it is now abandoned.

A representative of the Baale (or traditional ruler) of the community, Mr. Tajudeen Atewolara, says: “We want to see the end of this place, I do not have a house anywhere, this is my origin and we have nowhere to go.”

Atewolara laments that almost half of the community has been washed away by the ocean including mosques, churches, a burial ground, access roads, palm trees and homes. Asked where all these were located before, he pointed to a distance of about 100 metres away into the lagoon where the first road in the community was reportedly located. He explained that though the community has been experiencing ocean surges in the past but the ongoing dredging of sand for development of Eko Atlantic City project seems to have worsened the trend, worsening the already perilous impact on the community.

His words: “When the governor and Oba of Lagos came to this place about two years ago, they realised that the ocean surge challenge was due to the ongoing project on Victoria Island area. They insisted that the stone wall must be constructed first to save the community from danger of frequent surges. This is a very prosperous community, many people that live here have achieved a lot; we can’t leave this place because this is where our forefathers were born.”

Snapping out of his reverie, Olowu, who is an indigene of the community, expressed displeasure with what has been happening in recent times.

Says he: “We no longer have rest of mind with the rate at which the ocean surge is affecting the community. Those who want to build houses cannot do so any longer. We don’t know what may happened again.”

He narrates how the beach used to be prior to the negative effect of ocean surges, saying: “Before, we used to play under the palm trees here. A lot of people usually visit the beach to have fun but all of that has virtually disappeared. We cannot sleep well again because the ocean surge can occur at any time.”

Olowu underlined the need for government to come to the community’s aid to tackle the problem of the ocean surge permanently.

Another resident of the community, Mr. Lawal Salisu, who also linked the problem to the dredging activities on Victoria Island, opines that if it were to be in other climes, the community would have been taken to consideration.

He says: “They are punishing us with this project they are doing. If it were to be America, they would have protected this place before the project.”

Nonetheless, residents of the community are optimistic that the stone wall under construction from the Victoria Island when completed would prevent the community from further ocean surge. Other coastal communities facing the threat of ocean surge in the area include Owode, Lafiaji, Okun-Aja and Monko. Residents of these neighbourhoods have appealed to the government to provide drainage facilities in order curb frequent flooding whenever it rains – when the Atlantic Ocean surges.

‘Global average temperatures for January-June highest since 1880’

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‘Global average temperatures for January-June highest since 1880’
Clare Nullis of the WMO. Photo credit: unmultimedia.org
Clare Nullis of the WMO. Photo credit: unmultimedia.org

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has said that global temperatures over land and ocean surfaces from the January to June were the hottest on since 1880.

Clare Nullis, WMO spokeswomen, said on Wednesday at a news conference in Geneva that most of the world’s land areas were much warmer than average.

She said the regions include nearly all of Eurasia, South America, Africa, and Western-North America, with pockets of record warmth across the areas. All of Australia was warmer than average.

Nullis said the statistics from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed that the average temperature was 0.85 Celsius degrees. According to her, this was above the 20th century average of 15.5 Celsius, and surpassed the previous record set in 2010 at 0.09 Celsius.

She said the combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for June 2015 was the highest for June on record, at 0.88 Celsius above the 20th century average of 15.5 C.

Nullis noted that June 2015 marked the third month in 2015 that has broken monthly temperature record, along with March and May.

“The other months of 2015 were not far behind. January and February were each second warmest for their respective months and April was fourth warmest.

“In addition, the average Arctic sea ice extent for June was 7.7 per cent below the 1981-2010 average, making it the third smallest June extent since records began in 1979,” Nullis said.

Continental campaign addresses infertile women’s stigma

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Continental campaign addresses infertile women’s stigma

Merck, in collaboration with Kenya Women Parliamentary Association and University of Nairobi, has kicked off the “More than a Mother” Campaign as part of Merck Fertility Capacity Advancement Programme.

Rasha Kelej, Merck's Vice president and head of Global Business Social Responsibility and Market Development
Rasha Kelej, Merck’s vice president and head of Global Business Social Responsibility and Market Development

“The Merck More Than A Mother Campaign will not only provide medical education and awareness for medical students and general practitioners but will also support governments to define policies to improve access to safe and effective fertility care, address the need for interventions to reduce stigmatization and social suffering of infertile women and raise awareness about male infertility and the necessity for a team approach to family building among couples,” explained Rasha Kelej, Vice president and head of Global Business Social Responsibility and Market Development.

Through this campaign, Merck will address, together with local stakeholders, the key challenges that are associated with resource-constrained settings such as prevention of infertility, education and self-development, ART/IVF regulation, geographic barriers, reproductive rights and over-population and limited resources arguments.

Merck has supported Kenya’s IVF bill during many meetings with Kenya women of parliament, University of Nairobi, medical Students, community and media.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO) data, more than 180 million couples in developing countries (which one in every four couples) suffer from primary or secondary infertility. In sub-Saharan Africa infertility is caused by infections in over 85% of women compared to 33% worldwide which emphasise the importance of infertility prevention programmes in Africa.

Differences between the developed and developing world are emerging because of the different availability in safe, effective and equitable infertility care and different socio-cultural value surrounding parenthood and procreation since the social stigma of childlessness especially for infertile women still leads to isolation and stigmatisation in many African cultures.

During her meeting with University of Nairobi and Kenya Women Parliamentary Association to kick off the campaign, Belen Garijo, Member of the Executive Board of Merck and CEO Merck Healthcare, emphasised: “Providing access to infertility care is important, but it is even more important to intervene to decrease stigmatisation and social suffering arising from this condition. And this what we are aiming to do in partnership with local stakeholders across Kenya and Africa at large.”

Joyce Lay, a Member of Parliament, stated: “We cannot talk in hushed tones anymore, infertility is real and needs all of us to work together to fight stigma, majority of infertility causes is untreated infection, information is very vital to help prevention, early detection and available treatment methods.”

“The cost of IVF needs to be affordable for every couple who needs these services. The government can remove or lower taxes on IVF equipment. Our country doesn’t have single embryologists therefore capacity building is needed to improve access to fertility care, let’s give this a priority,” she added.

Access to adequate comprehensive reproductive health services, including infertility care, is a basic human right regardless of the economic circumstances in which individuals are born into.

Therefore, the Merck Fertility Capacity Advancement Programme will contribute to identifying and implementing strategies to improve access to effective, safe and regulated fertility care in Africa and to defining interventions to decrease social suffering from infertility and childlessness.

The consequences of infertility are much more dramatic in developing countries and can create more wide ranging social and cultural problems compared to Western societies, particularly for women.

A central difficulty associated with infertility is that it can transform from an acute, private distress into a harsh, public stigma with complex and devastating consequences.

In some cultures, childless women still suffer discrimination, stigma and ostracism. An inability to have a child or to become pregnant can result in being greatly isolated, disinherited or assaulted. This may result in divorce or physical and psychological violence.

Prof. Koigi  Kamau of the University of Nairobi said: “Therefore – Merck More than a Mother – campaign together with University of Nairobi will challenge the perception of infertile women, their roles and worth in society, both within and beyond the medical profession in order to achieve any systemic shift in the current culture of gender discrimination in the context of fertility care.”

“Infertility affects men and women equally. Approximately one-third of cases of couple infertility is due to male factors, one-third to female factors and one-third relates to a combination of male and female factors or has no identifiable cause, today together with Merck and University of Nairobi, we launch ‘Fertility is a shared Responsibility’ initiative to raise awareness about male infertility and encourage men to acknowledge and openly discuss their infertility issues and strive for a team approach to family building with their partners in order to progress toward Shared Fertility Responsibility among couples,” he added.

Lay said the campaign would bring us together with academia, medical students, healthcare providers, policy makers and media to create a culture shift that respects women regardless if she has children or not, it will also raise awareness about male infertility and infertility as a shared responsibility between couples, their families, communities and care providers.”

In order to improve access to safe and effective fertility care , a discussion with the relevant authorities will be needed to discuss the strengthening of infertility services, education, auditing, regulation, community awareness and the need to integrate them with Mother and Child, HIV prevention and Family Planning Programmes, which already exist in health infrastructure.

Merck More Than a Mother will be kicked off across Africa in partnership with government, academia, fertility stakeholders, community and media to create a culture shift across the continent with the aim to reduce the stigmatisation of infertile women in the continent.

‘We’re jeopardising planet’s capacity to sustain healthy future’

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‘We’re jeopardising planet’s capacity to sustain healthy future’

Though there have been rapid advances in human health, the continuing degradation of the planetary systems does not bode well for its future. Last week, The Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on Planetary Health launched a comprehensive report entitled “Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch” in New York City. This innovative report demonstrates the extent to which human activity is pushing the safe boundaries of our natural systems beyond thresholds required for humanity to continue to thrive and flourish.

Braulio Ferreira De Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
Braulio Ferreira De Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

Braulio Ferreira De Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and a scientific advisor for the Commission, noted that “we are moving closer than ever before to triggering potentially irreversible impacts, and jeopardising the health of our ecosystems and that of present and future generations.”

Dr. Dias participated on a panel that included other Commissioners and experts eager to engage in a discussion of the report with audience members in New York City. Welcoming the report, Dr. Dias highlighted its synergy with the State of Knowledge Review ‘Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health’, a unique collaboration by the World Health Organisation and the CBD Secretariat released last month in Brussels.

He noted that these reports signify an urgent call for concerted, coherent, collaborative action to jointly increase the resilience of our ecosystems and planetary system and communities worldwide. The CBD is deeply engaged in this work as many of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets adopted by over 190 countries in 2010 are directly or indirectly related to human health issues.

Dr. Dias was especially pleased that The Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission makes a bold call for the development of a new discipline of “planetary health.” It also suggests a series of practical recommendations that encourage collaboration between the medical, environmental, and other communities and stresses the need to take advantage of related opportunities for positive transformative change. The recommendations include reducing food waste and diversifying diets; protecting nature and biodiversity; building resilient cities; developing more resilient health systems; and making taxes and subsidies conducive for planetary health.

 

 

 

AFC partners with GCF, invests in renewable energy

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AFC partners with GCF, invests in renewable energy

Through partnering with the Green Climate Fund, AFC will have access to valuable resources to support investments across a variety of green projects

Andrew Alli, President & Chief Executive Officer, AFC
Andrew Alli, President & Chief Executive Officer, AFC

The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has been accredited as a partnering institution to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), making it the fund’s first African development finance institution.

AFC was invited by the GCF to consider becoming an accredited institution, and following submission of its application in early 2015, AFC has this month attained full accreditation.

Accreditation by the GCF enables AFC to access GCF’s committed capital of US$9.3 billion; a pool of funds for climate change projects to be utilised by members for on-lending, grants, lines of credit, guarantees and other fiduciary functions.

AFC intends to use the fund’s capital to further its investment in renewable energy, a priority sector for the corporation. AFC is the lead investor in the award winning Cabeolica project, a US$90 million, 26MW landmark renewable energy wind power project in Cape Verde and the first commercial scale public private partnership wind farm in sub-Saharan Africa providing over 20% of Cape Verde’ power needs.

The GCF, with headquarters in Songdo Republic of Korea, is a fund operating within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). GCF’s objective is to promote the paradigm shift towards low-emission and climate-resilient development pathways by providing support to developing countries to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the impacts of climate change, taking into account the needs of those developing countries particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

Over time, the GCF is expected to become the main multilateral financing mechanism to support climate action in developing countries. With a total of 20 accredited entities, the fund is governed by a Board of 24 members and is initially supported by an Interim Secretariat.

Andrew Alli, President & Chief Executive Officer, AFC commented on the announcement: “This is very positive news as it reinforces AFC’s status as a multilateral financial institution. Through partnering with the Green Climate Fund, AFC will have access to valuable resources to support investments across a variety of green projects, making a significant contribution to the global efforts to combat climate change.”

I will support REDD+ programme, Ayade assures

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I will support REDD+ programme, Ayade assures

Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade, has said that his administration will do all it can to ensure the success of the country’s UN-sponsored REDD+ Programme, which the state is hosting.

Governor Ben Ayade (right) with Elsie Attafuah (Senior Regional Technical Advisor for the UNDP/UN-REDD+ Regional Programme for Africa) (left) and Allen Turner (Nigeria UN-REDD+ Chief Technical Advisor)
Governor Ben Ayade (right) with Elsie Attafuah (Senior Regional Technical Advisor for the UNDP/UN-REDD+ Regional Programme for Africa) (left) and Allen Turner (Nigeria UN-REDD+ Chief Technical Advisor)

This statement is coming on the heels of growing fears that the new governor might discontinue with the programme following the arrest and detention several weeks ago of some senior forestry officials, and claims that he (Ayade) had concessioned the forest reserves to a Chinese firm to be exploited for financial gains.

But Ayade disclosed in his office in Calabar, the state capital, on Wednesday, July 15 2015 at a meeting with key local and international stakeholders that, if possible, he would amend the state budget to make a special provision so as to fully support the project, host an international conference on climate change at the Obudu Cattle Ranch and establish a Green Police force, among others.

REDD+ implies Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation. It is regarded as an effort to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development.

“I will give you all the support you need,” he told the delegation comprising Elsie Attafuah (Senior Regional Technical Advisor for the UNDP/UN-REDD+ Regional Programme for Africa), Muyiwa Odele (UNDP Nigeria Environment/REDD+ focal person), Allen Turner (Nigeria UN-REDD+ Chief Technical Advisor) and Perpetua Aji (Permanent Secretary, Cross River State Forestry Commission).

While Turner presented the UN-REDD programme’s support and progress to date and proposed next steps, Attafuah made a presentation on what REDD+ is all about, why it should be embraced, what it means to be REDD+ ready, and what other countries are doing, including Brazil’s access to some $1billion from international funding.

She stressed that, firstly, a country must have a strategy in place for implementing REDD+ to be able access such funds. She said Cross River will be REDD+ ready and be able to access such funds when it has addressed the four Warsaw elements – the four key elements required for developing countries participating in REDD+.

Laying emphasis on Attafuah’s submission regarding other countries already receiving payments, Ayade said he was “highly provoked” and would desire an urgent turnaround of the present situation.

His words: “Cross River State has over 640,000 hectares of undisturbed forest. I’m setting up a Green Police to protect and restore our forest. Also, we‘re starting a Green Carnival. Yet, we’re still at the back door. It’s a rude shock. Brazil has received one billion. Yet, Cross River State, for all the efforts we’re making, has gotten nothing like that yet.”

He reiterated, “We are going to work with you. We will protect our forest.” He noted that, during the first years of the programme, “we never got to move to forward on those four (Warsaw elements).”

He said this is “a marriage” between, firstly, our nature (that is, our character as Cross Riverians) and our love for the forest and, secondly, the way we do business. “I want the whole world to know that Nigeria is making progress. We should be opportunistic. We need to be positivistic. We need to support most of these projects,” declared the governor.

He called for “a practical workshop at Obudu (Cattle Ranch) on climate change”, for which the UN would provide “technical content and help us with the institutional backing. We’ll agree on a date. A workshop 100 percent hosted by us at Obudu.”

If required, he would “amend the state budget to make a special provision,” the governor emphasised, adding that he would demonstrate that “we’ve shown our own best, and we’ve funded them to get to the point to be REDD+ Ready. The world will see and, let’s not be denied. Africa has continued to be a key source of forest carbon emissions, essentially from slash and burning. In terms of CO2, in spite of that, we have huge forest carbon stocks.

“This programme has now given us a direction, a clear map and methods, and we need to follow these steps.” He pledged to make available the “time, men, and materials”. He wants the team to guarantee “that you will take us to where we need to go.”

Ayade stated that because of the ongoing REDD Readiness programme, the world renowned Calabar Carnival that holds in December will this year have one day for “Green Carnival,” where over 10,000 people will plant trees.

“Each person will be given an opportunity to buy young trees, and 5,000 to 10,000 people will carry their trees to a point where they will raise a new forest, a 10,000-man march, each one carrying a tree. This is a creative method, through which each and every one of us will take on the “moral burden. You will have a mother feeling for the tree you’ve planted, and it will bring you back again.”

The governor said that Cross River State is the first state to have such a thing as the Green Police, which “comprises young men and women committed to grow forest; to motivate a new generation of foresters; to plant trees as a project; they are trained on how to grow trees.”

He noted the importance of urban forestry: “Go to Abuja, you have big houses with bare soil. In Cross River State, we’ve planted trees. This is part of the role of Green Police.” Through the Green Police, he adds, the communities will “carry out forest protection, to stop illegal logging. The Green Police will hand over the criminals to the police.”

As the Green Police is being constructed, he said, “We need your inputs on this, now at the drafting stage. A chairman will be announced soon. One thousand people will be employed as the Green Police. We need the World Bank. We need others.”

He expressed hope that the REDD+ programme moves from the readiness stage quickly. “Let’s put all of the documentation into place and make it more than practical,” he said.

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