Day: September 28, 2021

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization is calling for action to stem food loss and waste, which it says are a major cause of hunger and malnutrition around the world.

FAO experts say countries currently are producing enough food to feed the nearly eight billion people who populate the world. Yet more than 800 million are going hungry.

Another two billion people, they say, are suffering from nutrition deficiencies, which can cause serious health problems.

The deputy director of the FAO’s food and nutrition division, Nancy Aburto, says millions of children suffer stunting and wasting, which are deadly forms of undernutrition, and one in three adults are overweight or obese.

That, she says, is another form of undernutrition caused by inadequate vitamins, minerals and unhealthy diets.

“The high cost of healthy diets has put healthy diets out of reach for billions of people around the world, in every region around the world including Europe," said Aburto. "And this trend has been seen to get worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Without healthy diets, we can never address the problems of hunger and malnutrition.”

A 2019 FAO study found an estimated 14 percent of food produced globally spoils or is ruined from post-harvest to the point of sale. Another study by the U.N. Environment Program this year shows an estimated 17 percent of food that is available to consumers is wasted.

The United Nations says around one third of all food or 1.3 billion tons of food produced globally ends up rotting in retail market or consumer trash bins. U.N. economists value the loss at around $1 trillion a year.

Aburto warns the U.N. will never reach its sustainable development goal of zero hunger by 2030 if food loss and waste continues unchecked. She says the ongoing problem also undermines the sustainability of global food systems for the future.

“Food loss and waste account for approximately 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions," said Aburto. "While food is lost or wasted, all of the resources that went into producing that, including water, land, energy, labor, and capital all go to waste. Reducing food loss and waste can lead to greater availability and accessibility of healthy diets and reduce hunger and malnutrition but this is not guaranteed.”

The FAO has declared this Wednesday to be International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Food Waste.

Aburto says reducing food loss and waste would lead to healthier, more nutritious diets, decrease world hunger, and result in environmental benefits.

Source: Voice of America

Ugandan police have rearrested two opposition lawmakers on charges of treason just minutes after they were released on bail in another case in which they stand accused of murder. The National Unity Party lawmakers deny the charges, which they say are politically motivated.

Police spokesperson Fred Enanga in a statement said authorities were holding legislator Ssegirinya Muhammed on fresh charges.

Earlier Monday, upon his release, security personnel traveling at high speed pursued the vehicle that had picked up Ssegirinya from a prison in the Wakiso district. When it pulled over, they forcefully put him into their vehicle.

Enanga said they were holding Ssegirinya at the special Investigations division for further processing.

“We want to inform the public that Honorable Ssegirinya Muhammed has also been rearrested on fresh charges of treason and incitement to violence by the joint security task team of investigators,” said Enanga.

The other lawmaker, Allan Ssewanyana, was rearrested outside the prison gate minutes after his release on Friday evening.

The two legislators, both members of the National Unity Platform party, were arrested earlier this month.

They were accused of being involved in a recent spate of murders in Masaka district in central Uganda that left close to 30 people dead. Many of the dead were killed with machetes.

The state charged the lawmakers with three counts of murder and attempted murder. In their most recent court appearance, prosecutors told the judge they were still investigating the lawmakers and amended the charge to terrorism, aiding and abetting terrorism.

Shamim Malende, the lawyer for both legislators and from whose vehicle Ssegirinya was forcefully taken, said authorities keep changing the charges against the men with no valid evidence.

“When they speak of inciting violence in Uganda, when they speak of treason, when they speak terrorism, unlawful assembly, those are political cases in Uganda. I think there's a problem. It is either fooling the nation or it is that they do not want to speak the truth. It’s now looking like persecuting the political opponents, people who belong to the National Unity party or are against government bad policies,” said Malende.

Joel Ssenyonyi, the National Unity Platform spokesperson, said the rearrest of the legislators is President Yoweri Museveni’s way of fulfilling his word when he said he would destroy the party led by musician-turned-politician Bobi Wine.

“You know these guys are bushmen. They were in the bush as rebels and that’s why they are behaving like bushmen, disregarding court orders. Court releases somebody on bail and you say no, we shall rearrest them as they get out of jail. And that’s what Mr. Museveni is doing,” said Ssenyonyi.

The legislators’ rearrest comes just days after the president clashed with Chief Justice Alphonse Owinyi Dollo over granting bail to capital offense suspects.

While the chief justice argued that bail was a constitutional right, Museveni argued that if anyone is arrested for murder, giving that person bail is a provocation and abominable.

Source: Voice of America

Burkina Faso’s war against Islamist militants has seen security forces criticized for human rights abuses. Now, the battle to win hearts and minds has moved to a new stage, with soldiers using their singing talents to promote the armed forces.

Police Sergeant Yacouba Sourabié, known by his stage name “General Yack,” is one of 15 Burkinabe soldiers who sing about battlefield life, loss, and fighting the enemy.

In a cramped recording booth in Ouagadougou, Sourabié sings into a microphone about heading to war and leaving family and friends behind.

Singing soldiers, like Sourabié, hope their music videos will win public support in the war against Islamist militants and put the military in a better light.

He says, the song is dedicated to our soldiers, our defense and security forces, who are on the frontlines and even those who have lost their lives. He says, we have dedicated this song to our soldiers, to make them understand that they are our heroes, they are valiant men of the nation, and for their families to be encouraged because families have lost their brothers and men on the frontline.

Burkinabé director San RemyTraoré was motivated to make music videos with security forces because his brother is a policeman.

He also wants to encourage greater confidence in the military.

He says, the first priority is to show the force of the soldiers on the terrain in this battle. But it’s also to assure the population so they understand they can count on the people on the battlefield, who are there to defend the national cause.

But critics say security forces should focus less on promoting fighting and more on respecting civilians’ rights.

The Collective Against Impunity and Stigmatization of Communities (CISC) documents abuses committed by the armed forces, like the alleged killing of 180 civilians around the northern city of Djibo documented by Human Rights Watch. The government said it would investigate the incident more than a year ago.

Daouda Diallo of CISC acknowledges that soldiers have faced heavy losses in their battle against militants.

And this kind of music can boost the morale of the troops, he says. But on the other hand, he adds, one must also consider human rights and the respect for social cohesion between the community and all Burkinabé citizens.

For gendarme duo LaCrew, their latest song, The Patriot, is about all of society fighting terrorism.

"We invite all our brothers in arms," says LaCrew. "All the population to come to together, to be strong to overcome this evil. It’s a song of encouragement that puts adrenaline in the blood of one and all to claim victory against this evil."

The final refrain of the song is, “we will not move, we are here.”

And it seems Burkina Faso’s soldier singers are here to stay.

Source: Voice of America

Female circumcision, known as female genital mutilation, is illegal in Kenya but is still being forced on young girls in some areas. Cases increased after schools closed due to the pandemic, but one survivor is fighting the practice in an ethnic Somali community.

Twenty-three-year-old Yasmeen Mohammed volunteers with Silver Lining Kenya, an organization that champions the rights of young girls and women in Kenya's Garissa County.

Mohammed says her focus is on eradicating the illegal and harmful practice of female genital mutilation, or FGM.

"As someone who has gone through the act, I know how harmful this is," she said.

She and other activists have joined the government's drive to end cases of female genital mutilation.

The number of FGM cases jumped after the coronavirus pandemic forced schools to close, particularly in Somali communities in Garissa. Mohammed says the long closure of schools was detrimental to the fight against FGM.

"During COVID, it was a moment of staying together, so that was when parents would realize that these children are growing," she said. "So, for the ones who were young, there is need for them to go through the cut. For the ones who are going through puberty is when you see, 'Oh, this one is supposed to be married.'"

The practice of FGM is illegal in Kenya, with the government pledging to eradicate it by the end of 2022, eight years ahead of the global deadline of 2030.

Maka Kassim, a community leader involved in rescuing girls from the practice, says it still thrives in places like Garissa because of strong cultural and religious beliefs.

"The Somali culture believes, they believe that a girl who doesn't go through the cut, she is like someone who is not clean, she is (an) unclean person," Kassim said. "They also believe that a girl who doesn't go through the cut, she is also not clean to do the prayers."

The Kenyan government's anti-FGM board is leading the campaign against the harmful practice.

The board's CEO, Bernadette Loloju, says keeping schools open is critical to combating the problem, but there are other challenges, too.

"The only big challenge we have is that girls are being taken for the cut at a younger age, when they don't understand what has happened to them," she said. "So, the communities are really coming up with new ways of evading the law."

Still, Kenyan officials say they are hopeful efforts by the government and advocates for the girls will keep the country on track to bring the practice to an end.

Source: Voice of America