Day: January 25, 2023

In order to gain a better understanding of mobility flows and trends throughout West and Central Africa, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) implements the Displacement Tracking Matrix’s Flow Monitoring (FM) tool at key transit points across the region.

Flow Monitoring activities are conducted in close cooperation with national and local authorities as well as with local partners. The Flow Monitoring tool consists of two main components: the Flow Monitoring Registry (FMR), which captures key data on the magnitude, provenance, destination and mode of travel of mobility flows, and the Flow Monitoring Survey (FMS), individual surveys conducted with travellers to gather detailed information about the profiles, migration experience, and intentions of migrants. Through these activities, the Flow Monitoring tool collects data on migration flows and trends, traveller profiles, migration journeys, and intentions of migrants, so as to obtain a sharpened view of mobility in West and Central Africa.

In Nigeria, DTM conducts Flow Monitoring activities in several important transit locations in Sokoto and Kano to monitor the movements of passenger buses to and from Niger. The Sokoto FMP covers three migratory routes in Illela, Gada and Sabon-Birnin. And the Kano FMP (Kofar Ruwa Park and Yankaba Park) covers two migratory routes in Dala and Nasarawa Local Government Areas in Kano state.

This report is subdivided into two sections: one section presents data obtained during the FMR and another section presents the key results from the FMS conducted with travellers between July and September 2022. The report presents data collected on flows, routes, provenance, destination and demographic profiles of travellers observed at the FMPs.

Source: International Organization for Migration

Berlin – Urbanization, together with climate change and technological progress, is contributing to a sea change in the way we produce and consume our food, which means that cities and local governments need greater support to help create a sustainable transformation of agri-food systems. This was the message conveyed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in an expert debate held today at the world conference in Berlin.

The 2023 edition of the World Forum on Food and Agriculture, an annual event organized by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, focuses on the transformation of our agri-food systems as a way of responding to the multiple crises that are unfolding. address global food security. These include climate change, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, and the war in Ukraine.

One of these spaces was an expert debate organized by FAO and entitled “Leveraging urban and local food systems for sustainable food systems transformation”.

Mr. Máximo Torero, FAO Chief Economist, introduced the discussion, which was moderated by Mr. Raimund Jehle, FAO Regional Program Manager. It was also attended by, among others, Mr. Gabriel Ferrero de Loma-Osorio, President of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security, Ms. Souad Abderrahim, Mayor of Tunis, and Ms. Jane Battersby, Professor of the University of Cape Town.

With 70 percent of the world’s food currently consumed in urban areas and the global urban population expected to nearly double by 2050, the expert group was invited to identify innovative ways to strengthen the role and function of food systems. urban, local and territorial food trends examining recent trends and new data sources. The group also discussed how city and local stakeholders can play an even greater role in achieving sustainable transformation of food systems.

“FAO has been working on urban food systems which have also been incorporated into the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-2031, ensuring that we not only take into account rural food production, but also urban food systems “, affirmed Mr. Torero when presenting the debate of experts.

Despite increasing urbanization (at an annual rate of 3%, the urban population in low- and middle-income countries is growing three times faster than the rural population, while it is projected that in middle-income countries As the percentage of the urban population increases from 42% in 2000 to 59% in 2030), cities and local governments do not receive adequate recognition and support at the national and global levels. Africa and Asia are undergoing the fastest urbanization process, Mr. Torero noted.

The Chief Economist also announced that the 2023 edition of FAO’s flagship report The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World will focus on urbanization as a key issue to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically the SDG 2 (Zero Hunger).

During the expert discussion, Ms Souad Abderrahim advocated for further cooperation, citing a joint project with FAO on reducing food loss and waste through early education as an example. Another practical example was provided by Mr. Armen Harutyunyan, representative of the Eurasian Economic Commission, which has a platform that aims to inform countries and private sector actors on initiatives and innovative solutions to improve food security in communities. urban.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Geneva, WHO is launching its 2023 health emergency appeal today for US$ 2.54 billion to provide assistance to millions of people around the world facing health emergencies. The number of people in need of humanitarian relief has increased by almost a quarter compared to 2022, to a record 339 million.

Currently, WHO is responding to an unprecedented number of intersecting health emergencies: climate change-related disasters such as flooding in Pakistan and food insecurity across the Sahel and in the greater Horn of Africa; the war in Ukraine; and the health impact of conflict in Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria and northern Ethiopia — all of these emergencies overlapping with the health system disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and outbreaks of measles, cholera, and other killers.

“This unprecedented convergence of crises demands an unprecedented response,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “More people than ever before face the imminent risk of disease and starvation and need help now. The world cannot look away and hope these crises resolve themselves. I urge donors to be generous and help WHO to save lives, prevent the spread of disease within and across borders, and support communities as they rebuild.”

WHO is currently responding to 54 health crises around the world, 11 of which are classified as Grade 3, WHO’s highest level of emergency, requiring a response at all three levels of the organization. As it is often the case, the most vulnerable are the worst hit.

In 2022, WHO provided medicines, other supplies, training for doctors and other health workers, vaccines, enhanced disease surveillance, mobile clinics, mental health support, maternal health consultations and much more. WHO delivers cost-effective, high-impact responses that protect health, lives and livelihoods. Every US$ 1 invested in WHO generates at least US$ 35 in return on investment*.

WHO responds to health emergencies in close collaboration with Member States, other UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and other partners in the communities and across countries and regions.

Source: World Health Organization

Malaria is a preventable, treatable, and curable disease. However, without prompt diagnosis and effective treatment, malaria can progress to a severe form of the disease and death. The WHO African Region carries a disproportionately high share of the global burden of the disease, with 2021 hosting 95% of malaria cases and 96% of deaths. Nevertheless, the following African countries have made good progress and are part of the malaria elimination initiative (E2025): South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, ESwatini, Comoros, Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe. WHO recommends that countries in the malaria elimination process must have a core group of WHO-certified expert microscopists to guarantee the quality of malaria diagnosis.

Early diagnosis and rapid treatment are one of the critical interventions to reduce mortality and morbidity from malaria. To ensure accurate diagnosis, the competence of every microscopist should be regularly assessed and their competence levels certified. The competence assessment should be based on malaria parasite detection, malaria parasite species identification and malaria parasite quantification.

Sao Tome and Principe has succeeded in reducing malaria incidence in the country in the last two decades. The annual incidence is currently around 18/1000 inhabitants. The country was intending to eliminate malaria by 2025. However, the country has recorded the following increasing cases in the past three years:1944, 2730 and 3999 respectively for 2020, 2021 and 2022.Then this 2025 target seems to be compromised possibly due to the COVID-19 impact and climate change effects that Sao Tome and Principe has experienced in the last three years.

WHO in partnership with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and malaria supported the Ministry of Health in Sao Tome and Principe to conduct an External Competency Assessment for Microscopists from 09 – 20 January 2023 to ensure there is a pool of WHO certified expert malaria microscopists in the country that contribute to the national malaria elimination agenda. This was the first time that Sao Tome and Principe held such a workshop.

The two-weeks ECAMM training of 12 national microscopists included one week of refresher training and one week of assessment. The training and evaluation were conducted by two experts from University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar (UCAD), a WHO collaborative center for malaria for francophone and lusophones-speaking countries, Dr. Mamadou Alpha Diallo and Professor Ndiaye Daouda. This ECAMM resulted in three microscopists certified for level 1 or 2 and nine microscopists certified for level 3 or 4. Sao Tome and Principe, therefore, now has three WHO-certified microscopists, which is a good score for a small island country of about 220,000 habitants, compared to other countries in the region. Professor Daouda Ndiaye, the director of ECAMM courses reiterated the commitment of the University of Cheik Anta Diop of Dakar, Senegal to continue to support Sao Tome and Principe for malaria microscopy.

WHO Country Representative Dr. Françoise Bigirimana stated in her speech during the closing ceremony that WHO will continue to provide technical support to build capacity and maintain the competency level of microscopists and other human resources for health in the country. She highlighted that it is essential to have effective skill-based trainings, periodic assessment and monitoring of performance in the area of diagnosis for malaria and other priority diseases in the country. WHO is committed to support the country to fight and eliminate diseases and progress towards Universal Health Coverage in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Closing the workshop, the Minister of Health, Célsio Junqueira, emphasized that the final stage of elimination is more challenging and demanding. He highlighted the crucial role of human resources for health and called for increased engagement of microscopists and other health workers towards elimination of malaria in the country. Finally, he acknowledged the south-to-south cooperation between African countries like Senegal and Sao Tome and Principe for this ECAMM.

Source: World Health Organization