Nairobi, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Eleven different African institutions have come together through a consortium to build capacities of African scientists who are researching on common diseases, especially those that are transmitted from livestock to human and vice versa through a concept known as ‘One health.’“Many times we treat tuberculosis in humans, but it doesn’t work because it is originating from livestock animals,” said Dr Bassirou Bonfoh, the Director for the consortium also known as African Science Partnership for Intervention Research Excellence (ASPIRE).“One health concept therefore recognises that the health of people is connected to the health of animals and the environment, and must therefore be tackled wholesomely,” said Bonfoh.One Health is therefore defined as a collaborative, multisectoral, and trans-disciplinary approach -working at the local, regional, national, and global levels - with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment.The consortium is currently supporting 60 young African scientists (Master, PhD students and Postdocs) who are currently researching on different diseases that include TB, brucellosis, rabies among many others.From Kenya for example, James Akoko is one of the fellows studying brucellosis for his PhD at Maseno University.Brucellosis is one of the neglected diseases, and it is transmitted from livestock to humans through poor meat handling, consumption of unpasteurized dairy products and direct contact with infected animals. “My study seeks to understand the role of different animals in the treatment of the disease,” said Akoko.He notes that if one is infected with the disease, then it is important to understand the origin in order to address the disease conclusively.“In many cases, we treat brucellosis without knowing whether the patient picked it from a goat, a cow or even a camel,” said Akoko. To address this, his study insists on interviewing the patient to understand the very animals they interact with, what kind of meat they eat and also the milk they take so as to know the target for vaccination.Through the consortium, Akoko is linked to supervisors based in Kenya, Tanzania and Switzerland. “We coordinate through skype meetings, emails, workshops and even conferences,” said the researcher.Other researchers are focusing on major steps towards elimination of rabies in Africa.“There is evidence that rabies can be eliminated. But we have not been able to do it,” said Bonfoh.The scientists are therefore involved in efforts to eliminate rabies in Tanzania, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire using an all inclusive e approach of ‘One health.’“Governments need to take up the fight against these important diseases, which affect mostly the poor,” said Bonfoh. “But the problem has been that nearly all governments focus on priority diseases while neglecting some very important ones,” he said.

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - African Civil society organisations (CSO’s) have raised concerns on lack of follow up and implementation of environmental policies by African governments.In a statement to the 7th special session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), the CSOs observed the need to move away from talk shows where policies are discussed but little or nothing is done in terms of implementation.With reference to the theme of this year’s AMCEN, “turning environmental policies into action through innovative solutions”, the CSOs called for coordinated approaches in the implementation of activities, and avoid a stand-alone working culture by government ministries, which they said, was currently the case in most African countries.They bemoaned most governments’ insistence on the top to bottom approaches and disjointed policy implementation.“We have been part of this process for a long time and having policies after policies at both local and national levels but what we have had challenges with is how to implement these policies,” said Mithika Mwenda, Secretary General of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA). “It doesn’t matter so much that we meet every year and do a declaration, what we are looking at is how to put these issues into action.”Citing the food systems sector, the CSOs urged governments to embrace innovations that link agriculture to all related natural resources and environmental management policies.“We urge governments to link agriculture policies to land tenure systems, farmer cooperatives, extension and advisory services and adopt policies that allow small scale farmers to get easy access to farmland, integrating policies for national security such as export policies, energy policy, water policy, seed policy, post-harvest wastage, health of soils and organic methods such as Agro ecology,” read part of the statement.And in support of addressing the perennial market access challenge especially among smallholder farmers, the CSOs believe the promotion of public- private partnerships and platforms in marketing of agricultural products among government ministries, could help farmers move up the economic ladder.Another issue of concern for African CSOs, which formed part of their two day consultation prior to the AMCEN, is resource and waste management. Under this pillar, they called for life cycle approaches, urging governments to integrate informal sector such as private waste collectors into formal policies and laws, monitoring and promote the principles of extended producer responsibility and encourage take back schemes combined with financial incentives to encourage recycling programmes.“We further urge the governments to integrate sound waste management practices at school curricula and integrate these into education policies to encourage attitude change,” they said.And with the realisation that Africa was a net importer of goods and services, the CSOs called for development of a cost effective way of protecting Africans from chemical hazards in the imported goods.“To regulate such, we urge African ministers to support the establishment of a new global framework for plastic pollution and nominate African experts to the ad-hoc expert working group on marine litter and micro plastics mandated by UNEA 4,” they proposed.According to available statistics, air pollution…

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - It is imperative for African Civil Society Organisations (CSO) to advocate for innovative solutions to overcome environmental challenges facing Africa, UN Environment regional director for Africa, Juliette Biao Koudenoukpo said on Sunday. “This continent has the capacity and the knowledge to innovatively overcome our environmental challenges. We need to move faster from the ‘business as usual’ approach and devise ways and means to address issues such as rising energy costs, poverty, environmental degradation, pollution and social inequality or changes in legislation” Koudenoukpo told a cross-section of CSOs in Nairobi during a two-day consultations to prepare for the seventh special session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) and the fourth session of the UN Environment Assembly. The meeting, co-organized by UN Environment and Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) brought together 120 participants from accredited organizations across Africa.“African countries need, more than any time before, to invest in innovative solutions to unlock its economic and social potential and create inclusive wealth for the wellbeing of their populations” she emphasized adding that innovation should happen at the policy, finance, market and partnership levels.“Remember that people, especially youth, should be at the heart of driving this process. Our youth have so many innovative ideas and initiatives that can make a difference in transforming our societies” Koudenoukpo said.The commitment and genuine involvement of all social groups are critical to the effective implementation of the policies and projects in the field of environment and sustainable development, Koudenoukpo said.

NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) - The need to invest in innovative solutions and interventions by promoting sustainable consumption and production is top on the agenda of the seventh special session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), which has opened today in Naroibi, Kenya.The two day conference is being held under the theme: Turning Environmental Policies into Action through Innovative Solutions.Ministers and other stakeholders are deliberating on key messages for the forthcoming African biodiversity Ministerial Summit which will be held in Egypt in November this year prior to the 2018 UN Conference on Biodiversity.It has long been held by experts that the environment has high potential in providing solutions to sustainable socio-economic development and poverty alleviation in Africa.According to UN environment, the continent holds 30 per cent of the world’s mineral reserves, roughly 65 per cent of its arable land and 10 per cent of its internal renewable energy sources. Its fisheries are estimated to be worth 24 billion USD and the continent hosts the second largest tropical forest in the world— the Congo Basin Forest, with almost 2 million square kilometers of humid forest.However, available statistics show that degradation of the ecosystems costs Africa 68 billion USD annually coupled with losses of up to 6.6 million tonnes of potential grain harvest, capable of meeting calorific needs of up to 31 million people. In addition, post-harvest losses are estimated at 48 billion USD annually.At the conference, delegates are particularly looking at how to enhance the political will to address the challenges of environmental degradation, to increase investments in innovative solutions to sustainably maximize on the benefit from the continent’s abundant natural resources.“Africa should focus on making a paradigm shift through practical innovative actions so that we can benefit at the maximum levels,” said Juliette Biao Koudenoukpo, UN Environment regional director for Africa, in her opening address.She believes much progress has been made and urged participants to ensure that such policies are turned into actions for sustainable environmental management in Africa“We have made strides through AMCEN by taking policy reform directions to promote and strengthen innovative and environmentally sound actions that can ensure sustainable use of Africa’s natural capital.”Among other key issues on the table for discussions is Africa’s preparation for the twenty-fourth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 24) to be held from 3 to 14 December 2018 in Katowice, Poland.This year the ministerial conference is held back to back with the first meeting of the Africa Environment Partnership Platform which will take place from 20 to 21 September. The aim of the Africa Environment Partnership Platform, according to Kwame Ababio of the NEPAD Agency, is to promote sustainable environmental management in Africa through enhanced partnership, coordination and harmonization of activities. Others represented at the conference include sub-regional economic communities, the African Development Bank, civil society organizations, United Nations agencies as well as other bilateral and multilateral partners The conference is expected to adopt a declaration, a set of decisions…