Japan to help double Africa’s rice production by 2030

“We must end hunger in Africa. Yes, we must! Hunger diminishes our humanity” - Adesina urges

YOKOHAMA, Japan, August 28, 2019/ -- The Sasakawa Association will work with the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA), to help double rice production to 50 million tonnes by 2030.  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made the announcement at the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) symposium held on Wednesday during TICAD7. “Japanese technology can play a key role in innovation which is key to agriculture,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told delegates. Discussions at the Symposium focused on Africa’s youth bulge, unemployment rates, agricultural innovations and technologies, solutions and job creation opportunities in the agricultural sector. “We’ve always believed in the agriculture potential of Africa,” said Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of the Nippon foundation. “We are paying more attention to income-generating activities. We want to help shift the mindset of small-holder farmers from producing-to-eat to producing-to-sell. We are hopeful that Africa’s youth can take agriculture to a new era, and that they can see a career path in agriculture,” he added. In a keynote address, African Development Bank Group President, Akinwumi Adesina, called for urgent and concerted efforts to “end hunger”. “In spite of all the gains made in agriculture. We are not winning the global war against hunger. We must all arise collectively and end global hunger. To do that, we must end hunger in Africa. Hunger diminishes our humanity,” Adesina urged. According to the FAO's 2019 State of Food and Security, the number of hungry people globally stands at a disconcerting 821 million. Africa alone accounts for 31% of the global number of hungry people – 251 million people. Commending the Sasakawa Association’s late founder, Ryochi Sasakawa, for his tireless efforts in tackling hunger, Adesina said: “Passion, dedication and commitment to the development of agriculture and the pursuit of food security in our world has been the hallmark of your work.” Between 1986 and 2003, Sasakawa Association in Africa, operated in a total of 15 countries including - Ghana, Sudan, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Mali, Guinea, Zambia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi and Mozambique. Harnessing the potential of new technologies Adesina expressed confidence in the ability of technology to deliver substantial benefits in agriculture. To accelerate Africa’s agricultural growth, the African Development Bank has launched the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) to deliver new technologies to millions of farmers. ‘TAAT has become a game changer, and is already delivering impressive results, Adesina said. Working with 30 private seed companies, the TAAT maize compact produced over 27,000 tons of seeds of water efficient maize that was planted by 1.6 million farmers. Tackling climate change: a top priority Hiroyuki Takahashi, founder of Pocket Marche, a platform that connects Japanese farmers and producers with consumers, shared insights and lessons learnt from Japan’s experiences, historic cycles of climate disasters and the country’s rebound. “The power to choose what we eat is the power to stop the climate crisis and bring sustainable happiness to a world with limited resources,” Takahashi said. It is estimated that Africa will heat up 1.5 times faster than the global average and require $7-15 billion a year for adaptation alone. Limiting the impacts of climate change is expected to become a top priority for Africa. “Africa has been short changed by climate change. But, it should not be short changed by climate finance,” Adesina said in his concluding remarks. “Let’s be better asset managers for nature. For while we must eat today, so must future generations coming after us. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that we do not leave empty plates on the table for generations to come,” Adesina concluded.

WHO revises recommendations on hormonal contraceptive use for women at high HIV risk

[GENEVA, 29 August 2019] The World Health Organization (WHO) has revised its guidance on contraceptive use to reflect new evidence that women at high risk of HIV can use any form of reversible contraception, including progestogen-only injectables, implants and intrauterine devices (IUDs), without an increased risk of HIV infection.

However, as these contraceptive methods do not protect against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), the guideline emphasizes that correct and consistent use of condoms should be used where there is a risk of STIs, including HIV. WHO also recommends considering offering pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in settings where the incidence of HIV is above 3%, as appropriate.

The updated WHO guideline follows a thorough review of the latest scientific evidence. 

It emphasizes that women should have access to the full range of modern contraceptive methods so they can make informed choices around contraceptive choice and their sexual health.

“Evidence shows that a woman’s risk of HIV should not restrict her contraceptive choice,” said Dr Peter Salama, Executive Director, Universal Health Coverage/Life Course at WHO. “All women should have access to a wide range of options for contraception as well as to HIV prevention and to treatment if needed.”

The updated recommendations to the WHO guideline, Medical eligibility criteria for contraceptive use, stem from a review of the latest evidence conducted by the independent Guideline Development Group convened to inform WHO. This Group assessed all of the evidence on hormonal contraception and risk of HIV acquisition published since the previous review published in 2016, along with a systematic review of all published evidence on copper-bearing IUDs and HIV risk.

The global recommendations have particular bearing for sub-Saharan Africa, which has the highest rates of HIV transmission but also some of the biggest challenges in ensuring women have access to a full range of contraceptive options. Currently a quarter of women aged 15–49 in Africa (24%), who want to delay or prevent having children, have limited access to modern contraception. This is the highest unmet need across all WHO regions.

About the evidence.

The new evidence is largely based on the results of the Evidence for Contraceptive Options and HIV Outcomes (or ECHO trial) - a randomized clinical trial that showed no statistically significant differences in HIV acquisition among women using intramuscular depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-IM), copper IUDs, or levonorgestrel (LNG) implants. 

This new high-quality evidence supersedes the low to low-moderate quality evidence from observational studies that had been previously available to inform WHO’s guidance.

Promoting STI prevention within contraceptive services

The ECHO study – which was conducted across communities expected to have high levels of HIV prevalence in Eswatini, Kenya, South Africa and Zambia - also revealed concerningly high levels of HIV acquisition and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among women seeking contraceptive services, particularly younger women, irrespective of which of the three contraceptive methods they used.

“There is a clear need to ensure women in Africa have access to high quality HIV and STI prevention and testing services, along with a wide range of contraceptive options to suit their values, preferences, views and concerns,” said Dr Felicitas Zawaira, Director of Family and Reproductive Health in WHO’s African region.  “In high HIV prevalence settings, these may include condom promotion, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), as well as linkages to antiretroviral therapy for those testing HIV-positive, and partner testing.”

WHO will work with Ministries of Health, other organizations providing contraception and STI/HIV services and civil society, including youth organizations, to support implementation of these updated recommendations. WHO has established an advisory group of women living with HIV to ensure their perspectives are heard and considered across WHO in relation to HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Kenya’s new wildlife conservation campaign

 By Ochieng’ Ogodo

Journalist - Kenya

[Nairobi] Kenya on 1 August launched a new wildlife conservation campaign dubbed “Ivory Trade is a Rip Off”,  a fresh effort aimed at raising awareness and curb the illegal trade in ivory.

The campaign — supported by 31 other African states under the African Elephant Coalition — calls for the listing of the African Elephant in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) – which includes species threatened with extinction – at the Convention’s upcoming 18th Conference of the Parties (CoP18) following the dwindling numbers of elephants as a result of poaching.

The launch that took place at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport was attended by the Director of UN Environment’s Regional Office for Africa, Juliette Biao, the country’s Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, Najib Balala, and representatives from Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and Kenya Airways.

“We are worried – with the lobbying that is going on and opening the ivory trade – that poaching could be revived, because there will be a demand and supply,” said Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala. “And that is why we are here today, to bring this awareness.”

CITES introduced the ban on international trade in ivory in 1989 following years of unprecedented poaching; up to 80 per cent of herds are estimated to have been lost in some regions.

“The Kenya Airport Authority was the first in Africa to sign the United Buckingham Palace Declaration, an international initiative that commits players in the international transport supply chain to collaborate in the fight against the wildlife trafficking,” KAA’s Isaac Awuondo said at the launch. “We moved quickly to join in the fight against illegal wildlife trafficking out of the realization that a complex transnational supply chain was enabling this vice and it needed to be disrupted, if not eliminated.”

“Illegal Trade in Wildlife harms sustainable development in Africa. Together we can reverse the trend and protect our wildlife. I urge all stakeholders to join this campaign to eliminate this scourge,” Director of UN Environment’s Regional Office for Africa, Juliette Biao.

Through a partnership between KWS and KAA, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is equipped with canine units trained to detect wildlife products in passenger baggage and cargo. KAA has been at the forefront in its commitment to the fight against Illegal wildlife trafficking by enacting laws, developing policies and procedures and training personnel to ensure that illegal wildlife products do not pass through airports.

As part of the campaign, 400,000 limited-edition boarding passes have been produced with the message: “Trade of ivory is ripping Kenya apart”.

Kenya Airways and UN Environment have jointly been raising awareness on the need for better and sustainable wildlife conservation by distributing a special children’s education pack to passengers. The pack contains a tote bag, a comic book, postcards, stickers and temporary tattoos relating to wildlife conservation and the illegal wildlife trade. 

UN Environment supports African countries in their fight against illegal trade in wildlife through awareness raising, policies as well as capacity building and support to local communities.