On a continent where approximately two-thirds of its citizens rely on agriculture as the main source of their livelihood, where new technological advances have been introduced, and where there is enough food available to feed the whole population, why is it that more than two-thirds of the population are experiencing moderate to high levels of undernourishment?
An important piece of the puzzle is technology.
Many of the kinds of technologies that are being introduced to African farmers are high-tech solutions. These...
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Many small farmers face challenges to earn enough money to feed their families and send their kids to school. A single dairy cow can raise a farmer’s annual income up to six times above the national average of only US$250, thereby lifting their families out of extreme poverty. Collectively, a developed dairy sector also helps reduce dependency on imports, thus making buying dairy products less expensive.
Donata Kuchawo is a 45 year-old married mother of five and caretaker of...
For the first time in our lifetime, a wide range of African artists and global celebrities with a passion for Africa, have united in a call for action to break the recurring incidence of famine and extreme hunger in the Horn of Africa.
In an open letter addressed to African and world leaders, 58 artists are appealing for the implementation of a three-part plan to beat the famine in the Horn of Africa and invest in long-term solutions to avoid...
Elizabeth Wright of Concern Worldwide explains the way of life of pastoralist communities living in northern Kenya — and how they have been affected by the drought.
For pastoralist communities of Northern Kenya such as the Borana tribe, cattle and rain are as vital to human life as air. Their herds are not only their primary source of food, but also inseparable from centuries-old cultural traditions linked to marriage, health and the naming of children. Cattle are at the heart...
There is an immediate need for additional funding to address the famine in Somalia and wider food crisis in the Horn. ONE is actively addressing the crisis in two ways: by raising awareness of the famine and needed response through social and traditional media, and by pressing world leaders to step up and quickly fill the $1 billion funding gap for emergency assistance. We need your help – and your voice – on both fronts.
Children play outside makeshift...
At the recent UN High Level Meeting on AIDS, world leaders made a critical step in the right direction with the launch of a global plan to eliminate new HIV infections among children by 2015 and to keep their mothers alive. Last year, ONE members tirelessly advocated for the Global Fund during our “No Child Born with HIV” campaign, and we’re pleased that this plan will help us work towards turning that goal into reality.
Tremendous gains have been...
The French news publication, Le Monde Diplomatique, recently published a map showing major infrastructure, particularly energy, in Africa:
The image shows how infrastructure in Africa is growing rapidly, but is still largely concentrated in coastal regions and those with large mineral deposits. This means that rural and isolated populations often do not have access to modern energy and the benefits that it can bring.
In fact, only 30.5% of the total sub-Saharan population and only 14.3% of the...
Today marks yet another moment in the “holidays without greeting cards” series: World Tuberculosis Day. Each year, there are 9 million new cases of TB and close to 2 million people die from the disease. An estimated 10 percent of people with TB also are co-infected with HIV, further compounding the diseases’ burden. Dr. Paul Nunn, a self-described “physician-turned-bureaucrat,” is responsible for coordinating TB control efforts throughout the WHO system...
Thanks to good harvests, much of sub-Saharan Africa has been sheltered from the recent rise in world food prices. This is in sharp contrast to the food price spikes in 2007 to 2008, which resulted in a sharp increase in poverty and riots across many African cities. However, currently there are pockets where demand outstrips supply and poor families are feeling the crunch. In Nairobi, for example, supermarket prices for corn, wheat and cooking...
This piece was first published on the Royal Africa Society website
For a country whose President sits 7th in the league of longest serving African leaders (and could have climbed to 6th by the time this is published), Ugandans appeared remarkably relaxed about awarding Yoweri Museveni another five years in office. The election campaign was largely peaceful, a welcome change from the violence and intimidation inflicted on his main opponent Kizza Besigye in 2006, and the result was decisive. On...