13 year old Joshua Ushie lives in Ikeja layout community, Beten, Bekwarra Local Government Area in Cross River State in Northern Nigeria.His community is one of those triggered and declared open defecation- free by Concern Universal, an NGO implementing agency of the Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion in Nigeria (RUSHPIN) Programme in Benue and Cross River states.Ushie and his friends have seen the benefit of not defecating in the bushes, rivers and other public places, they are aware of handwashing with water and soap or ash at critical times.As a curious reporter on a field visit to RUSHPIN Project sites, I tested their knowledge on such issues.I asked Ushie if I could use his parents' toilet, he responded in the affirmative, yes ma."We don't 'shit' in the open here, our community have been taught on why we should build our toilets, if you are caught doing it in public, there is a fine for that offense.""In this community, if anybody is caught defecating in the bush, the person will pay fine, crate of beer, goats etc, if the person refuses, he is arrested."Ushie said most of the children who previously died and fell sick often due to faecal-oral disease transmission were no longer experiencing such.Corroborating this fact, the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Coordinator, Bekwarra LGA, Mr Godwin Aghwanya, said the WASH Community Group raise money though a cooperative account to give loans to those who can't afford them to build toilets.He said this was also done to make the community members convert their toilets from pit latrines to pour-flush types, towards moving up the sanitation ladder.At a visit to Otuche community in Yala Local Government Area, there was an obvious stench of human faeces permeating the environment.Around the houses, we could see flies perching on freshly done faeces, creating an atmosphere of poor Hygiene and sanitation.The Village Head, Godwin Ogar, was educated on the importance of building and using toilets and also in stopping open defecation.Ogar said before the coming of RUSHPIN Project, his community members defecate only in the bush, saying he would take it upon himself to encourage them to construct and use toilets."I will tell my people to construct and use thier toilets, because most times, they fall ill, children die anyhow."Some of us have dig the toilets, but I will encourage everybody to build and use theirs."He pledged that within two months, the community would be declared open defecation free.Ogar said the community has appointed a four-man committee to inspect houses,saying they would also serve as watchdog towards sustaining total sanitation in the vicinity.He said there was a fine of 5, 000 naira for penalty for anyone found defecting in the open, saying this would also include the deliberate construction of tigers in such cases.Mrs Scholastical Beshel, Hygiene Officer, WASH, Yala LGA, one of those who triggered the community was optimistic that the community would change and be committed to hygiene promotion.She said some of them have decided to end open defecation in their area,…

LUSAKA, Zambia (PAMACC News) – Ahead of COP 22 in less than two months, Civil Society Organisations working on climate related activities in Zambia have been urged to intensify their sensitisation programmes on climate change. Speaking during the CSO Paris Agreement review meeting in Lusaka, Richard Lungu, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) country focal point in Zambia reminded delegates of their critical role in simplifying the Paris Climate Agreement to the masses. Lungu, who also announced the recent approval of the country’s climate change policy by cabinet, believes CSOs have a greater responsibility of educating the masses on the implications of the Paris Agreement in their lives. “Our economy is natural resource intensive,” he said, adding “it is incumbent upon us to make people understand the Paris Agreement provisions and what they mean for the implementation of our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).” The UNFCCC Zambia Focal Point, who is also the Chief Environmental Officer at the Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, said government wants to see an active involvement of CSOs especially in the implementation of the climate change policy. “Now that we have an agreement in place, COP 22 and beyond is about implementation and requires support in form of ideas from all concerned stakeholders so that Zambia, and Africa in general, continues with its push for a successful implementation of the Paris Agreement,” emphasizedLungu, stressing that Africa remains a vulnerable region to climate change with limited capacity to cope without external support. Organised by Green Enviro Watch with support from Oxfam Zambia, the CSO meeting was called to deliberate on the linkages between the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the context of the country’s development agenda. Adopted in New York in September last year, SDGs have become a foundation on which governments are anchoring their sustainability actions. However public sensitization and awareness has been low, prompting the CSOs to brainstorm and chart the way forward. “Our goal is to carry everyone on board especially youth and rural populations who are ironically the most affected by policy decisions and/or omissions,” said Abel Musumali, Green Enviro Watch Executive Director. He said “while Africa continues to push certain demands collectively especially on finance and technology transfer, national circumstances as outlined in the NDC have become a key focus area in the implementation stage of the land mark climate agreement.” Meanwhile, French Ambassador to Zambia, Emmanuel Cohet implored the CSO representatives to work in partnership with one another not only to strengthen their proposals for support from development partners, but also complimenting each other’s capacities in terms of project implementation. Cohet assured that his government remains committed to aspirations of the global community as espoused in the Paris Agreement to which France played a key role to achieve. And in amplifying the role of partnerships, Oxfam Zambia Humanitarian Programme Manager, Teddy Kabunda said there is more to be gained when working in synergies. “We know that government is making a lot…

Young people, who form the biggest part of population in Sub Saharan Africa, have little or no interest in agriculture, a sector that drives the region’s economy.And now, experts at the Africa Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) 2016 have said that it will take more than financial persuasion to hook them into the sector.“Even with donors promising subsidies to Africa’s youth in agriculture, the generation is faced with the twin problems of skills transfer and motivation,” said Ambrose Agona, the director general, National Research Organisation (NARO) of Uganda.Other experts said that the absence of youth engagement in Africa’s agriculture is due to poor policies that do not cater for the interest of the youth.“Governments must link scientists to what is happening in the industry and markets,” said Micheni Ntiba Kenya’s s principal secretary for Fisheries. “There is need to follow up research to ensure that it is incubated as a business because the youth will always want to go to where money is.”Experts further observed that some scientists were working in silos.Africa Harvest Biotechnology Foundation International chief executive officer, Florence Wambugu said pointed out that African scientists must interact with farmers to understand what kind of innovations Africa needs.According to her, Africa may be doing well with a growth path of six per cent but failure to win the youth into agriculture will not help Africa fight poverty and climate change.“Researchers must break the silos and work through value chains so as to attract the youth into the sector,” said Wambugu.Meanwhile, a new report released during the AGRF meeting accuses financial institutions of failing the youth in terms of capital access.According to the AGRA 2016 African Agriculture Status report, only 6 per cent of rural households in sub Saharan Africa are borrowing from formal financial institutions.

Ouverture ce matin au Centre Togolais des Expositions et Foires de Lomé (CETEF) au Togo de la première édition du Salon International des Savoirs Traditionnels et Bioéconomiques en abrégé SISTRA-BIOECO. SISTRA-BIOECO se veut un cadre d’inspirations, et de transfert de connaissances écologiques, technologiques, socioculturelles et sanitaires pour l’innovation et la réinvention du modèle de croissance économique et industriel. Cette première édition est placée sous le thème « Innovation et Promotion du modèle de croissance bioéconomique », ce salon est initié par le Centre Omnithérapeutique Africain (COA). Il a pour entre autres objectifs de contribuer à la vulgarisation et à la valorisation des savoirs traditionnels bioéconomiques et des innovations compatibles à la sauvegarde de la planète, offrir une opportunité d’affaire dans le domaine bioéconomique et technologique, élargir et renforcer les relations d’ affaire entre les différents exposants nationaux et internationaux. Le ministre Togolais de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche, Octave Nicoué Broohm en ouvrant les travaux ce matin, a martelé : »chacun individu sur notre planète doit contribuer à la sauvegarde de notre patrimoine commune de manière responsable « Les participants sont venus d’Allemagne ,d’Amérique ,de la France ,du Niger ,du Ghana ,du Bénin, du Burkina Faso ,du Sénégal et du Togo ainsi que les institutions de formations et de recherches, les sociétés de productions et de transformations, les institutions économiques, politiques et financières, les organismes ou associations de protection de l’environnement, de la culture, des acteurs de la santé, des chercheurs ,inventeurs ,des entrepreneurs ,des industriels. Au total 256 exposants et plusieurs conférences, ateliers et projections seront également animés par d’éminents chercheurs au cours de cette période. Des rencontres d’affaires, des soirées culturelles, des jeux concours meubleront aussi le salon dont l’apothéose est fixée au 31 Août 2016 à Lomé au Togo.Le Centre Omnithérapeutique Africain (COA) est un établissement d´enseignement supérieur à caractère scientifique, culturel et professionnel, fondé sur la collaboration et l´interdisciplinarité entre chercheurs universitaires, médecins, pharmaciens, agronomes, religieux, juristes, des acteurs de la santé et de l´écologie.