Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation - Thu, 16 May 2013 10:15 AM

By Isaiah Esipisu

NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The future of cassava, one of the most climate-resilient crops in Africa, may be under threat because rising temperatures have led to a dramatic increase in the number of whiteflies, tiny insects that spread the deadly cassava brown streak virus.

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KAMPALA, Feb 13 2013 (IPS) - Unless African smallholder farmers, who comprise the majority of food growers on the continent, are given the tools and knowledge to cope with the increased occurrences of plant virus diseases, the livelihoods of millions will be at stake, according to Nteranya Sanginga, the director general of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.

According to the Ministry of Health of Gabon, only 1 out of 2 young Gabonese aged 15-24 have a comprehensive knowledge on HIV in a country where the prevalence rate among youth aged 15-24 is about 4.8%, and 15% of youth have sexual relationships before the age of 15.

In an effort to revolutionise HIV prevention in Gabon, Shell Gabon in co-operation with the non-governmental organization Aiducators4life, the government and UNICEF launched an innovative tool aimed at stimulating discussions on HIV among youth (13+) in the country.

SOMMAIRE

BACKGROUND PRESS RELEASE

16 October 2012

The fourteenth session of the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group will be held in Geneva from 22 October to 5 November during which the next group of 14 States will have their human rights records examined under this mechanism.

La République Gabonaise ne cesse d’apporter son assistance humanitaire aux sinistrés des explosions du 4 mars dernier au dépôt d’armes et de munitions de la caserne de Mpila à Brazzaville. Hier, le 27 septembre, quatre ONG ont offert plusieurs tonnes de vivres et non vivres aux sinistrés. Les dons ont été réceptionnés par la ministre des affaires sociales, de l’action humanitaire et de la solidarité, Emilienne Raoul.

La FAO publie un premier rapport d’étape sur l’horticulture urbaine en Afrique

30 août 2012, Rome - La population urbaine de l'Afrique croît plus rapidement que celle de toute autre région, mais de nombreuses villes africaines ne sont pas en phase avec la demande croissante de nourriture qui accompagne cette croissance. Une publication de la FAO qui vient de paraître incite les décideurs à agir maintenant afin que les villes du continent soient suffisamment «vertes» pour répondre de manière durable aux besoins nutritionnels et en revenus de leurs habitants.

JOHANNESBURG, 6 August 2012 (IRIN) - As global grain prices begin to climb, the Sahel countries of West Africa, those in the Horn, and in central and southern Africa - many of which depend mainly on imported cereals to feed their people - are most exposed to the impact of more expensive food, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Around the world plenty of people are already living with high food prices, and more will be joining them.

€6 million project to set up national monitoring systems and strengthen regional cooperation

A new regional initiative will help ten Central African countries to set up advanced national forest monitoring systems, FAO announced today. The ten countries are part of the Congo Basin and include Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda and São Tomé and Principe.