Category: General

Lilian Vihenda prepares afternoon porridge for her young children. The flour she uses has just been delivered by the staff at Food Banking Kenya, a nonprofit organization that helps feed the needy in her Nairobi neighborhood.

In the current hard economic times in Kenya, Vihenda says, these care packages help keep her children in school. She says the money that she would have used to buy food will pay for her children's school fees, which is a great help.

But in addition to helping the poor by salvaging excess food from farms and markets, Food Banking Kenya is taking steps to blunt the harmful impact of climate change.

John Gathungu, who heads the nonprofit, says the recent acquisition of a cold storage facility allows the food bank to store more food while reducing greenhouse emissions from the farms.

“When food in the farms ends up in the landfills, you find that there is a lot of toxicity within the air, because what happens is that when they rot in the landfill, they produce methane, which is a worse product than carbon dioxide," Gathungu said. "And if we curb food wastage, we can be able to at least to reduce the amount of gas that is produced from at least 6 to 8 percent.”

Implementing climate-sensitive advances will be key to helping Africa adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change, says adaptation strategies analyst Winnie Khaemba.

“Agricultural technologies that also ensure that you have reduced emissions, CO2 emissions, methane emissions, which are all greenhouse emissions, we really are in need of these technologies and also the capacity to be able to apply these technologies,” Khaemba said.

But technology requires funding, and that remains a challenge.

Experts say the continent will need more than $300 billion over the next decade as it develops strategies that will help cushion it from the effects of climate change.

Source: Voice of America

In Malawi, health authorities say an outbreak of scabies around the commercial capital of Blantyre has affected more than 300 people. Scabies is a contagious, intensely itchy skin condition caused by tiny mites that burrow into the skin.

“We started seeing cases from June and we have seen that the cases have been increasing such that by the end of September we had seen 255 cases. But as I am talking now, as of October, the number has risen to 309 cases,” says Chrissy Banda, the spokesperson for Blantyre District Health Office.

Residents of Blantyre like Matilda Lamba say the outbreak is concerning, especially with records indicating that it is more prevalent in rural areas.

“Those people from villages they come in town. You know we buy things from then like agriculture commodities, we interact with them daily and right at the moment we are very afraid that we might catch the scabies,” she notes.

But Banda says people should not panic, saying efforts are under way to stop the outbreak. “In our facilities the treatment is there. We have a lot of scabicides; the treatment for scabies. So first thing, we identify the cases, and then we are treating the cases to make sure that we block the transmission.”

The scabies outbreak comes at a time when Malawi is starting to recover from COVID-19, currently registering low infection and death rates.

George Jobe, executive director of the Malawi Health Equity Network says although the scabies outbreak is scary, the good news is that its preventive measures are similar to those that prevent COVID-19, like hand washing and observing social distancing.

In the meantime, the ministry of health is advising institutions that deal with large groups to watch for cases of the skin condition and report suspected cases to health authorities.

Source: Voice of America

Thousands of Nigerians are expressing concern about the country's new digital currency after its user app was temporarily removed from the Google Play store this week. The app has recorded tens of thousands of downloads since its launch on Monday.

Central Bank authorities said a system glitch unable to handle the huge amount of traffic on the download site led to the temporary removal of the eNaira Speed Wallet.

They say the problem has been resolved.

The eNaira app has recorded over 100,000 downloads on the Google Play store alone since launching on Monday. But thousands of early users say they encountered many difficulties.

Among them was Ogunbiyi Olubiyi, who runs a Lagos-based digital company.

"It's a great initiative by the Central Bank, they're positioning for the future which means they're heading somewhere with this. But the execution could have been better," Olubiyi said.

Nigerian authorities restricted cryptocurrency transactions in the country earlier this year and promised to create a safer option for citizens - the eNaira.

The government expects to leverage the blockchain technology to improve financial inclusion, ease cross-border trades, increase remittances and boost the economy.

But users like Abuja stock trader Leonard Nwankwo worry about hacking. Nwankwo says the Central Bank's terms offer no insurance in the event of losses of revenues or profits.

"Whether it's an error that is caused by them or an error that is not caused by them, so that is to tell you that only the consumers of this product or investors in this currency are bearing 100% risk, so an agent can decide to do something dubious and he's free to go because by limitations of liability he's not to be held accountable," Nwankwo.

Olubiyi says more awareness is needed to boost user confidence on the eNaira platform.

"I don't think that people downloaded and tried the app before they began to report it. You see that is due to mistrust. I think the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) needs to go on a campaign, introducing and educating people about the eNaira and how it's going to be solving problems in their lives," Olubiyi.

Central banks around the world are adopting digital versions of their legal tenders. The Nigerian government hopes that the eNaira will boost Nigeria's gross domestic product by $29 billion in the next 10 years.

But experts say that goal can only be achieved if end users have confidence in authorities and the currency itself.

Source: Voice of America

The U.N. refugee agency reports more than 60,000 Burundian refugees have voluntarily returned home this year, ending years of exile in five neighboring countries.

The election of Burundi’s then-President Pierre Nkurunziza to a controversial third term in 2015 triggered a mass exodus of refugees from the country. Observers say it took another presidential election in May 2020 to persuade thousands of refugees it was safe to go home.

Evariste Ndayishimiye took office on June 20, following the sudden death of Nkurunziza earlier that month.

The UN refugee agency says the voluntary assisted return program, which began in 2017, has been gathering pace after the country’s elections in 2020.

UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo, acknowledges her agency’s concerns about reported human rights violations in Burundi. She says all returns are carefully vetted to ensure that it’s done in safe manner.

A convoy carrying 343 Burundian refugees returned to the country from Uganda earlier this week. The UNHCR reports about half that number have returned from Tanzania, with the rest coming from Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya.

Mantoo says the repatriation operation is moving along in a quick and organized fashion. She says convoys of around 1500 refugees arrive in Burundi every week.

“On arrival at one of five reception centers, returning families are given household items and cash assistance to help them restart their lives. However, more support is needed to achieve sustainable reintegration for these individuals (who) are returning as well as for the communities in Burundi receiving them. Often the required social and economic infrastructure is lacking,” she expressed.

The UNHCR reports it has received just 10 percent of the $104.3 million it needs to support return and reintegration in Burundi. It notes this is a problem given the increasing numbers of people going home.

Since 2017, more than 180,000 Burundian refugees have voluntarily returned home. However, nearly 270,000 Burundian refugees remain in exile.

Source: Voice of America

U.S President Joe Biden has added his voice to those demanding restoration of Sudan's transitional government, which was overthrown by the Sudanese military earlier this week.

In a statement released by the White House, Biden noted the African Union, European Union, Arab League and other world organizations have condemned the military takeover and violence against protesters.

"Together, our message to Sudan's military authorities is overwhelming and clear: The Sudanese people must be allowed to protest peacefully, and the civilian-led transitional government must be restored," Biden said, according to the statement.

He also called on Sudanese authorities to release all those detained this week, including several pro-democracy activists arrested while protesting Monday's coup.

Deadly street protests continued Thursday evening, with security forces using tear gas and firing live and rubber bullets against protesters, witnesses said.

A doctors committee tracking the violence reported that at least one protester was killed and two were critically wounded in the eastern Khartoum district of Bahri, Reuters reported. And another protester was killed and six wounded in the Khartoum-North suburb, Agence France-Presse reported.

Earlier Thursday, the leader of Sudan's military junta fired at least six ambassadors from their posts after they spoke out against this week's overthrow of the joint civilian-military transitional government.

State-run Sudan TV announced Thursday that General Abdel-Fattah Burhan dismissed the envoys to the United States, European Union, China, Qatar and France, as well as the head of Sudan's United Nations mission in Geneva.

A group of Sudanese diplomats issued a joint statement this week condemning the arrest of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and his wife on Monday, and Burhan's decision to dissolve the Sovereign Council and declare a national emergency. The joint civilian-military council had run the country since August 2019, shortly after the ouster of longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising.

In an interview with VOA on Wednesday, Sudan's ambassador to the U.S., Nureldin Satti, said he would work to see that the coup was not accepted.

Reached by telephone at his Washington office on Thursday, Satti said he is not leaving his post and is consulting with the U.S. State Department.

"I do not accept instructions from an illegal body," he said. "I am staying on."

Satti said he has not been contacted by the military leadership in Sudan but heard news of his dismissal from Sudan state media.

Burhan has pledged the military will turn power over to a civilian government in July 2023, after general elections are held. He said the army's overthrow of the transitional government was necessary to avoid a civil war.

The U.N. secretary-general's special envoy to Sudan, Volker Perthes, met with Burhan on Wednesday to discuss the takeover and subsequent developments, according to U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric. Perthes reiterated that the U.N. wants to "see a return to the transition process" and demanded an immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained.

Sudanese security forces arrested demonstrators in Khartoum on Wednesday, including the three pro-democracy activists. Hamdok was released Tuesday, a day after his arrest, but remains closely guarded at his home in Khartoum.

The international community has ramped up pressure on Sudan since the military takeover. Wednesday, the African Union said Sudan was suspended from all AU activities until power is returned to a civilian government.

The World Bank said in a statement it has "paused" financial aid to the country and "stopped processing any new operations as we closely monitor and assess the situation."

The U.S. State Department said it was suspending $700 million in financial assistance to Sudan.

In Sudan, opponents of the coup have called for a "march of millions" on Saturday.

The U.N. Security Council met privately Tuesday to discuss the situation but has so far not issued any statement condemning the coup. Some members, including Russia and China, have publicly questioned whether this week's events qualified as a coup, and have said council members should not interfere in Sudan's domestic affairs.

Hamdok, an economist and diplomat who has worked for the U.N., was named transitional prime minister in August 2019. The transition received strong support from Western countries, including the United States, which removed Sudan from its state sponsors of terrorism list.

But Hamdok faced stiff resistance from elements of Sudan's military. On September 21, forces still loyal to Bashir used tanks to block a key bridge and attempted to seize power. The coup attempt was put down, and dozens of soldiers were arrested.

Source: Voice of America