Kabarole Siamese twins who had been admitted at Mulago hospital have died.

Kabarole Siamese twins who had been admitted at Mulago hospital have died.

Mulago hospital spokesperson, Enock Kusasira, says the twins died last night after their situation worsened.

The pair admitted last week was sharing the heart and the liver. Francis and Robert were admitted at the hospital's Special care Unit in ward 5B. The male babies weighed 4.3kg.

This was a fourth pair of Siamese twins admitted at the hospital including the two pairs from Ngora and Kabarole districts which passed on.

WFSJ graduates 58 African and Arab Science Journalists

Fifty-eight journalists from 30 African and Arab countries graduated from the SjCOOP Program of the World Federation of Science Journalists, Wednesday 10^th October 2012, in Jordan.

Following their last encounter with the experienced science journalist who has been their mentor for the last two years, the ‘mentees’ – one of them now editor-in-chief of his newspaper, another now working for the main TV station in her country, and several having published articles in the most prestigious scientific journals – received their certificate from the World Federation of Science Journalists.

“It has really been two years of great learning and sharing”, said Hope Mafaranga from Uganda.

The class of 2012 is the second group of African and Arab science journalists to successfully complete the SjCOOP training program. In a first phase, from 2006 to 2009, SjCOOP graduated 32 science journalists from Africa and the Arab World.

SjCOOP mentees typically begin by revising the ten lessons of the WFSJ online course in science journalism developed – and recently updated – by an international team of journalists: http://www.wfsj.org/course/. Mentors then comment the online, print, audio, or video production of their mentees with a goal of improving overall quality. Mentors also advise on how to find sources and story ideas all the way to pitching stories to editors and freelancing internationally.

Beyond improving the skills of individual journalists at better covering complex issues like climate change, health, energy and technological developments, SjCOOP has provided several pan-African publications with networks of correspondents, in some instances giving birth to entirely new publications, rooted in Africa.

The program also invests in the development of networks of journalists, up to the establishment of associations and the linkage of the associations, regionally and internationally. It has played a key role in the establishment of more than 15 active associations or clubs of science journalists with many of them initiating their own training activities.

Monitoring and Evaluation are fully integrated in the program thanks to the work of internal and external evaluators. Throughout the duration of the program, the SjCOOP program managers benefit from early information about areas that need improvement while independent evaluators measure the progress of the mentees’ production according to quality criteria established at the outset of the mentoring.

This intense monitoring work – and the large size of the group – provide an exceptional opportunity to study what conditions are necessary for a journalist to succeed at covering science in Africa and in the Arab World, from his personal qualifications to the newsroom environment. SjCOOP has already led to the publication of several articles in peer-reviewed journals*. Several more papers providing unique insights on how science and technology can be communicated through the African and Arab media will be published in the coming months.

… and SjCOOP Phase II will end only next January.

In the meantime, eighteen of the best SjCOOP graduates from 15 different Arab and African countries will be working in a ‘virtual newsroom’ where they will work in teams on stories under the editorial leadership of editors from ScienceAfrica, SciDev.net, Nature Middle East and the newspapers Sidwaya (Burkina Faso), Mutations (Cameroon), and Fraternité-Matin (Côte d’Ivoire).

The World Federation of Science Journalists and the SjCOOP team have learned tremendously from the mentees, mentors and coordinators. The Federation is now putting together follow-up activities. Keep visiting this web site for more detailed reports on the achievements of the SjCOOPies, from publishing in the most prestigious international publications to making an impact on their Parliaments.

As Ola Al-Ghazawy said: “I wish all the SCJOOP family will keep in touch”.

This is a challenge that the World Federation of Science Journalists is committed to meet in several ways. One way is to make sure that as many science journalists as possible attend the upcoming 8th World Conference of Science Journalists, 24 – 28 June 2013, in Helsinki, Finland: http://wcsj2013.org

The SjCOOP Program is funded by UK Aid (lead donor), The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Canada's International Development Research Centre.

http://www.wfsj.org/news/news.php?id=291

Research shows that legume trees can fertilize and stabilize maize fields, generating higher yields

Africa’s first long-term study finds legume trees planted alongside maize, combined with less fertilizer, is best solution for Africa’s most important food crop

Inserting rows of “fertilizer trees” into maize fields, known as agroforestry, can help farmers across sub-Saharan Africa cope with the impacts of drought and degraded soils, according to a 12-year-long study by researchers at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).

The study, Can Integration of Legume Trees Increase Yield Stability in Rainfed Maize Cropping Systems in Southern Africa?, by Gudeta Sileshi, Legesse Kassa Debusho and Festus Akinnifesi, was published in this month’s issue of Agronomy Journal of the Soil Science Society of America.

Three coordinated experiments, begun in 1991 in Malawi and Zambia, found that farms that mix nitrogen-fixing trees and maize have consistent and relatively high yields year after year. In Malawi, the highest average maize yield was found in fields that combined both fertilizer trees and inorganic fertilizers, but applied at just half the standard recommended amounts.

Maize mono-crops grown with inorganic fertilizers may have higher yield in some years but the yield is less reliable in the long run. Mono-cropping without replenishing soil nutrients in any way the de facto practice of resource-poor maize farmers, was the least productive and most unpredictable of all. 

“To grow their way out of poverty, Africa’s small-scale farmers don’t just need a good harvest for one or two years, they need long-term stable, high-yield harvests,” said coauthor Akinnifesi, former regional coordinator for the World Agroforestry Centre, Southern Africa Regional Programme. “Moreover, they need to know which farming systems will be both stable and sustainable as the environment and climate changes.”

In sub-Saharan Africa, where more than one in three people is chronically hungry, variable rainfall, drought and degraded soils all cut into yields that are one-quarter of the global average. 

While previous studies have shown the short-term benefits of such agroforestry practices, today’s study is the first to analyze long-term yield stability in the face of environmental change.  Year to year, the most dynamic environmental change is found in rainfall, which directly impacts maize yield on Africa’s largely non-irrigated, rain-fed farms.   

Maize accounts for more than half of the cropped area and the calories consumed in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The small-scale maize farming system, covering 10 percent of the region, is in crisis, with yields in many areas either stagnating or declining. As a result of rapid population growth, average farm sizes have fallen to less than 0.5 hectares in many areas.

Continuous farming without replenishing the organic matter and nutrients in soil has led to erosion and soil infertility, and there are signs of increasing soil acidity in some areas exposed to prolonged use of inorganic fertilizers and the burning of crop residues.

With climate change, maize cropping systems are expected to experience even more dramatic reductions in yield. For just 1°C of warming, more than 75 percent of the present maize-growing areas in Africa are predicted to experience at least a 20 percent reduction in yield under drought conditions.

The experiments incorporated a tree called gliricidia into maize fields. Gliricidia “fixes” nitrogen, drawing it from the air, changing it into a form that plants can use for their own growth, and inserting it into the soil. This alleviates the need for big doses of manufactured nitrogen fertilizers. The leaves shed by gliricidia also return organic matter to the soil, increasing its structural stability, erosion resistance and capacity to store water.

“Growing maize with legume trees has increased yields in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa,” said Gudeta Sileshi, the lead scientist on the study and regional representative for ICRAF’s Southern Africa Program. “Now we know this is not just a temporary phenomenon. For maize farmers who can’t afford fertilizers, agroforestry with nitrogen-fixing trees offers a stable increase in production, allowing them to feed their families and replenish the soil.”

Application of fertilizer without the addition of organic matter may not be sustainable because only organic matter helps to retain soil moisture, adds calcium and feeds soil biota, contributing to soil health and structure.

Past long-term studies have shown that continuous maize cropping with inorganic fertilizers in Nigeria resulted in significant yield declines over a 16-year period. Likewise, in Pakistan, a 14-year study showed declining rice yields even when the recommended level of nitrates, phosphate and potassium were applied. 

In the United States and Europe, researchers have conducted long-term studies ranging from 20 to 120 years, monitoring the impacts of cropping systems on dynamic soil processes. Such long-term studies have been virtually nonexistent in sub-Saharan Africa.

“We need well-designed long-term trials that will allow scientific assessments of different cropping systems with a changing climate in Africa,” said Debusho, a senior lecturer at the University of Pretoria. “Such information can guide the exploration of technological alternatives and the development of policies to improve the adaptability and sustainability of cropping systems.”

 Ends

Global Fund results show broad gains against HIV

Global Fund results show broad gains against HIV

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced new results on Monday ( 23. 07.2012)  that show a significant increase in treatment of HIV and in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

The results show that 3.6 million people living with HIV are now receiving anti-retroviral treatment under programs backed by the Global Fund, an increase of 600,000 since the end of 2010

Overall, 8.7 million lives have been saved by programs supported by the Global Fund since the organization was formed in 2002. The results include data through June, 2012.

The success in expanding treatment for HIV in developing countries has been achieved by effective efforts by health workers in countries with a high disease burden, the commitment of donors, and reduction in the cost of drugs, among other factors. A year’s supply of first-line anti-retroviral drugs costs today less than $100 per person for the least expensive regimen recommended by the WHO, from more than $10,000 in 2000.

However, financial support for effective drugs is only part of the solution. Preventing and treating HIV requires extensive efforts by health and community workers – persuading high-risk people to be tested, and counselling patients on treatment – and can only work by strengthening health and community systems. The engagement and support of civil society organizations have also been crucial to the successful implementation of Global Fund grants and their achievements.

By mid-2012, the results show an increase in the number of pregnant women living with HIV who have received a complete course of antiretroviral treatment under programs supported by the Global Fund to 1.5 million.

“As we focus our resources to increase impact, preventing mother-to-child transmission is an area where we are achieving great success,” said Gabriel Jaramillo, General Manager of the Global Fund. “These results show that creating an AIDS-free generation is now possible, but only if we push harder to get there.”

The results also show that the number of HIV testing and counselling sessions provided by Global Fund-supported programs rose by 43 per cent in the 18 months since December 2010 to 210 million.

Massive strides have also been made in the fight against malaria, with 115 million insecticide-treated bed-nets distributed in the past 18 months alone under programs backed by the Global Fund, taking the total number of nets distributed to 270 million. The number of cases of malaria treated has risen by more than half in the same period to 260 million.

Global Fund-supported TB programs continued to expand. Recipients of Global Fund financing have cumulatively detected and treated 9.3 million smear-positive cases of TB, an increase of 21 per cent from 2010 to mid-2012.  They have also more than doubled the number of TB/HIV services, such as screening for co-infections, delivered over the same period.

Together with the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, PEPFAR, the Global Fund is one of the leading international financial supporters for HIV prevention and treatment. The Global Fund provided 21 per cent of total international investments for HIV and AIDS in 2009, the latest year for which data is available. The Global Fund was also the main source of international funding in 52 of the 92 recipient countries that have reported financial data to UNAIDS.

The Global Fund will invest up to US$8 billion in grants to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria over the coming 20 months, US$5 billion of it in Africa.

President Museveni challenges leaders on women empowerment, as birth control efforts get major boost

President Yoweri Museveni has challenged leaders especially those from developing countries to re dedicate themselves to the social- economic transformation of their people and to addressing their reproductive health needs.

He urged them to empower women in all aspects saying all stake holders must be on board as women do not only give life but they are the backbone of the economies of the developing world.

The President said the government of Uganda is committed to ensuring that all women are enabled to exercise their family planning choices and to strengthen service delivery and the reproductive health systems in the country.

President Museveni who is accompanied by the First Lady Hon.Janet Museveni was last evening delivering his key-note address at the London Summit on Family Planning hosted by the British Prime Minister David Cameron and co-sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and United Nations Fund for Population Activity-(UNFPA).

He told participants at the meeting who included the Tanzanias’ leader Mr. Jakaya Kikwete and that of Rwanda Gen. Paul Kagame, that government will increase the current allocation for family planning supplies from USD 3.3 million per year to USD 5 million per year for the next five years and will mobilize an additional USD 5 million from External partners.

He also said the National Medical Stores will be strengthened to improve distribution of supplies to both public and private health delivery units.

This he said, was in accordance with the road map to reach Uganda’s’ goals towards the achievement of her National Development Plan. He also said that the country was making steady progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goals, citing reduction of poverty levels among the people, increase in life expectancy, the provision of Universal Primary and Secondary Education and promoting women development.

The summit was addressed by Presidents Jakaya Kikwete and Paul Kagame who both committed their governments’ efforts in scaling up family planning infrastructures through more resource allocation and information dissemination.

Welcoming Heads of State and other delegates to the summit, Prime Minister David Cameron said empowering woman is key to the development of a family.

He said women should be allowed and be able to decide whether, when or how many children they should have and to avoid unintended pregnancies.

"We're not talking about some kind of Western-imposed population control, forced abortion or sterilization," said Cameron. "We're not telling anyone what to do. We're giving women and girls the power to decide for themselves,” he said.

He committed over 500 million pounds between now and 2020 to the cause of family planning in order to provide affordable lifesaving contraceptive services, information and supplies in the world's poorest countries.

Mrs Melinda Gates of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and co-sponsor of the summit said the purpose of the Foundation was to help all people around the world to live healthy and better lives adding that family planning with contraceptives helped families to determine when to have their children, enable them go to schools and live good lives and at the same time enabling women and girls avoid unwanted pregnancies.

She committed over US$500 million to Family Planning between now and 2020.

The Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund, (UNFPA ), Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin thanked the three Heads of State for honouring the Summit. He described President Museveni as a man full of wisdom and who led Africa in the fight against HIV/AIDS adding that the pledge to boost birth control measures is transformational for the developing world.

The measures agreed at the conference would avert an unintended pregnancy every two seconds over the next eight years and mean that 212,000 fewer women and girls would die in pregnancy or childbirth. They would also prevent 3 million babies dying in the first year of their lives and that an estimated 220 million girls and women around the world would use contraceptives if they had access to them.

The lack of contraceptives resulted in over 60 million unintended pregnancies every year, while putting women at risk of death or disability during pregnancy, as well as unsafe abortions. According to reports in 2008, there were around 14 million births to adolescent girls in developing countries, "most often before they were physically, emotionally or economically prepared.”

Press Release: President Museveni calls for unity deal based on justice for the two Sudans.

President Yoweri Museveni has called on the people of South Sudan not to be like the Biblical children of Israel who were about to back-track to Egypt when faced with challenges.

“You should stand firm and make sure that judgment is attained. Be strong, the modern world doesn’t have a place for the weak hearted”, he said.

The President who was the Chief Guest at the celebrations to mark the first Anniversary of Independence of South Sudan called for a peaceful deal based on justice to resolve the conflict between Sudan and South Sudan. He urged President Salva Kiir to strike a deal with the Khartoum government that will benefit everybody.

“I don’t care who is right or who is wrong but make a deal based on justice and a deal that will not create problems in the future”, he counseled. He decried the suppression of black people by greedy politicians.

“In the world, the voice of black people is not heard; otherwise the suffering of the black people of South Sudan would not have gone on for too long because their case was quite obvious”, the President said.

In a brief recount of the history of the South Sudanese struggle to independence, Mr. Museveni lamented the tendency of black people being prone to division. He, however, paid great tribute to the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the heroes and heroines, who fought hard to win the independence struggle.

The Republic of South Sudan, the youngest independent nation on the African continent, yesterday held its 1st Independence Anniversary celebrations amidst pomp at the John Garang Mausoleum in Juba. South Sudan became independent on the 9th July 2011 after a majority of its over eight million inhabitants voted in favour of cessation from the Khartoum based government.

Other high ranking officials who attended the celebrations included former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who is mediating AU-led talks between Sudan and South Sudan, Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemerian Desalegn, Chairperson of AU Commission Jean Ping, AU Chairperson Yayi Boni, Minister of State for Public Service of Kenya Dalmas Ayango and Special Representative of the UN Secretary General Hilda Johnson.

President Salva Kiir on his part congratulated the people of South Sudan and paid tribute to the fallen heroes.

“The celebrations to mark the first anniversary are a manifestation of a sustained liberation struggle. Today we are free and liberated; but as we celebrate we must know that freedom is not an end in itself,” he said.

President Salva Kiir said that the conflict between his country and Sudan, stems from the fact that since attainment of South Sudanese independence, the Khartoum administration has continuously disregarded South Sudan’s sovereignty which has caused fighting and displacement of South Sudanese citizens.

He, however, emphasized that he will solve all those problems through dialogue. He reported that the Khartoum government had confiscated oil belonging to the government of South Sudan worth over US$800 million leaving South Sudan to operate on a very limited budget. He also expressed optimism that the relations between Khartoum and South Sudan would soon be addressed peacefully.

“We realize the importance of our mutual relationship and respect each other’s sovereignty as we pursue the visions of our two countries”, he emphasized. President Kiir paid tribute to development partners and civil society organizations for their assistance before and during South Sudan’s first year of independence.

Speaking on the way forward for South Sudan, President Kiir promised to tackle corruption, which he said had made the country lose millions of shillings. He also called on the people of South Sudan to join him in the fight against corruption so that the vice does not undermine the aspirations of the South Sudanese people.

African Union commission chairman Jean Ping said the AU noted the tremendous difficulties facing South Sudan, urging both Juba and Khartoum to stick to AU and UN Security Council resolutions to broker peace between them.

In a speech read for him by Ms. Hilda Johnson, the United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki Moon pledged the world body’s support to ensure a peaceful and stable South Sudan.



ENDS

Global Fund Offers Outstanding Value for Money

The General Manager of Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Gabriel Jaramillo, has told a gathering of finance and health ministers that the financing institution offers outstanding value for money by effectively treating and preventing the spread of disease.

In a speech to a Conference of Ministers of Finance and Health by Harmonization for Health in Africa (HHA), Mr. Jaramillo said the changing economic climate had forced the Global Fund to change its operations to make grants more strategic, improve efficiency and become more effective overall.

The Global Fund will invest US$8 billion over the coming 20 months, US$5 billion of it in Africa. Mr. Jaramillo said that with productivity gains and more co-investment by countries that receive grants, there is a tremendous opportunity.

“As a former banker, I know a good deal when I see one,” said Mr. Jaramillo. “There is no better deal that investing to prevent these diseases.”

Jaramillo urged the ministers not to fear the investment necessary just because the up-front costs look high, because maintaining gains is less-expensive than the initial investments.

“Front-end these programs now, put your skin in the game now, because the out-years will be much cheaper as your number of cases goes down.

“Sustaining your programs is much-less costly than you believe, and the return on investment is potentially huge,” he said.

He also observed that the average cost of ARV drugs is now US$ 127 per patient per year, 12 percent less than in 2010, on top of a 27-percent decline the year before. The average cost of insecticide-treated nets is down to US$ 4.50.

He also cited recent analysis about Namibia, where HIV treatment costs approximately US$ 120 million a year, about half of that paid for by the Global Fund. With that investment, 9200 hospital beds were released for other health problems, 1,000 health workers and 550 teachers were kept alive per year,. The country also went from 9,400 hospitalizations to 236 and 2,700 deaths to 56 over five years.

Jaramillo drew a sharp contrast between the situation today and that of 10 years ago, when international assistance for health saw a huge increase in funding because of three factors – generosity, fear, and a sense of urgency.



“Ten years ago, few people were on ARVs in Africa, and fewer than five per cent of African households owned insecticide-treated nets. Today, only generosity is left as a motivator, you have to create the sense of urgency and much work remains to be done,” he also said.

The current rate of improvement will not be sufficient to reach the health-related Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Only 41 percent of countries supported by the Global Fund are on track to meet the fourth MDG on reducing child mortality and the sixth on combating HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

“We know what works now we did not 10 years ago,” Mr. Jaramillo said. “You have become good at this fight. The knowledge base has moved from the North to the South—you now know the most. We want to work with you to make your programs more effective and more efficient.”



ENDS