Africa

Image: Cancer. Source: Vanguard, Nigeria

In Nigeria, 72,000 Cancer Deaths Annually and Rising

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Nigeria has one of the highest cancer mortality rates in the world, with an estimated 72,000 cancer deaths occurring annually and 102,000 new cases diagnosed from its population of 200 million people, according to a report in Frontiers in Oncology.

Breast cancer accounted for the highest mortality, followed by prostate cancer. “(But) there is no efficient public policy on cancer issues,” says Chioma Obinna, writer of Good Health Weekly for Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper. “And cancer mortality among Nigerians continues to rise despite improvement in cancer care across the world.”

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 24 October 2022

Photo: Zoleka Mandela who has again been diagnosed with breast cancer. Source: news24

South Africa Cancer Cases Will Double Without Major Spending on Prevention

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — At the World Cancer Congress meeting this month in Geneva, Switzerland, it was predicted that all cancers in South Africa would almost certainly double by 2030 without major spending increases for screening and prevention.

This comes as new cancer therapies have boosted survival odds from six months to five or six years for even late-stage cancer patients. But expensive pharmaceuticals—the ‘financial toxicity' of the new precision medicine drugs and scanning machines—benefit just 2% of the top tier medical aid plan beneficiaries.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 24 October 2022

Photo: Scientist Paul Kuria displays GM disease-resistant cassava (left) vs cassava infected with CBSD. Credit: Joseph Maina.

Disease-Resistant GM Cassava Promises to Be Game-Changer for Kenya

By Joseph Maina

Alliance for Science issued this article, and it is being republished with their permission.

NAIROBI, Kenya (IDN) — At the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) centre in Mtwapa, Kenya, scientist Paul Kuria uproots two sets of cassava tubers exposed to the devastating cassava brown streak disease (CBSD).

One of the plants is a conventional cassava variety that has no immunity to the disease. The second has been genetically modified (GM) to resist the disease. Kuria punctiliously slices each of the tubers open, and the difference between the two is stark—like night and day.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 October 2022

Photo: A photo posted on Twitter on October 18 shows flood-impacted communities in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, who depend on canoes to travel around. © Twitter/@YeriDekumo

Worse Flooding in A Decade Takes 600 Lives in Southern Nigeria

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | ABUJA (IDN) — Flooding in the southern and coastal states of Nigeria has taken the lives of more than 600 people, displaced 1.4 million and destroyed roads and farmlands. Officials warn that the situation could continue into November.

Thirty-one of Nigeria’s 36 states have been affected in what media reports have called the worst flooding in a decade, drowning infrastructure and 200,00 homes, partly or wholly destroyed.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 18 October 2022

Photo: A man in Enugu believed to be a loyalist to the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on October 13 night burnt down his vehicle to celebrate the ruling of the Appeal Court which discharged the IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu. Source: SunNewsonline.com

Nigerian Court Acquits Biafran Separatist Leader

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | ABUJA (IDN) — In a surprise development, Nigeria’s Appeal Court sitting in Abuja has exonerated the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, saying his extradition by force from Kenya and his subsequent arrest by Nigerian authorities had been illegal.

Kanu, leader of the banned Indigenous People’s group, was originally arrested in 2015 on various terrorism-related charges. He escaped to Kenya in 2017 while out on bail.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 17 October 2022

Africa: Let Us Not Leave Rising Hunger as Our Legacy

Viewpoint by Abebe Haile-Gabriel

The writer is the Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It was published in Horn Observer on October 13, ahead of World Food Day on October 16.

ACCRA (IDN) — More than a billion Africans cannot afford a healthy diet. Africa is moving backwards in its efforts to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. This situation is not sustainable.

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Africa; 17 October 2022

Image: A Collage of the cover of African Women's Report and a picture from Geography name.

Digital Finance Can Drive Women’s Economic Empowerment in Africa

From Africa Renewal

By Economic Commission for Africa

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — A new report reveals persistent barriers in the digital finance sector that limit women’s economic empowerment in Africa while recommending policy responses to overcome them.

Commissioned by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the latest edition of the biennial African Women’s Report was published on October 3. The report analyses the digital finance ecosystem in Africa to examine all its components and how they impact women’s economic prospects.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 14 October 2022

Photo: People in eastern DRC wait for their monthly cash assistance. Credit: Benjamin Anguandia.

WFP Starts Afresh in DR Congo's Violence-Torn Northeast

By Benjamin Anguandia, WFP

KINSHASA (IDN) — Kesereka, who prefers to go by Sadi, accepts a stack of cash from a World Food Programme (WFP) officer in a small room in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s northeastern town of Mabalako.

He counts it carefully, folding it neatly, so it fits in his small pocket.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Food security, nutrition & sustainable agriculture; 13 October 2022

Photo: Protest against GMOs in Ghana. Credit: COFAM | Pambazuka News

GMOs that Promote Poverty and Dependency Gain Foothold in Kenya

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Kenya has officially entered into the cultivation and use of Genetically Modified Organisms—known as GMOs—that have been banned in 26 countries.

This month, Kenyan authorities announced plans to lift the country’s ban on genetically modified crops, in part to deal with a record drought that is causing hunger across the Horn of Africa. The move is opposed by those concerned about potentially harmful effects on health, the environment and small farms.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Poverty; 11 October 2022

Photo: Lesotho’s RFP leader Sam Matekane shakes hands with a party member after the announcement that his party was on track to win a majority in parliament. Credit: Shiraaz Mohamed.

Landlocked Lesotho Votes A Revolution for Prosperity

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — A recently organized party led by a millionaire diamond magnate looks set to win Lesotho's parliamentary election, having secured enough for a simple majority, according to preliminary results from the election commission.

By Sunday afternoon, results from the October 7 vote were in for 49 out of a total of 80 constituencies. The Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) party, formed by Sam Matekane in March, had secured 41 seats, the minimum required to reach a simple majority.