In this podcast from the London International Development Centre, four vets describe the challenges affecting livestock within pastoralist communities in East Africa and explain an exciting project to monitor disease by using mobile phones. Dr Ezra Saitoti and Dr Paul Chacha, both field vets for the charity Vetaid, discuss how this innovative technology will help … Continue reading
They are huge, bulky and strong! They are disease-tolerant and can survive drought by browsing on leaves on trees that other livestock cannot eat. These are camels! Following severe long droughts that hit northeastern part of Tanzania in the last couple of years, a group of Maasai women of Ketumbeine village in Longido district, Arusha … Continue reading
Temperatures seem set to soar to perilously high levels because of climate change. In another 40 years, would maize still be the staple food in Kenya, already hit by five failed rainy seasons? If not, what could people grow and eat? And if you could grow maize, how much water and fertilizer would it need? … Continue reading
This guide is designed to help communities and policy-makers at local and national levels make informed choices regarding land use, business ventures, and public policy in pastoral areas, particularly the Maasai Steppe and other semi-arid parts of East Africa. This decision support tool, Sustaining communities, livestock and wildlife stems from work by the Food and … Continue reading
Mwongozo huu umeandaliwa ili kusaidia jamii na watunga sera katika ngazi ya jamii na kitaifa kufanya maamuzi na uchaguzi sahihi kuhusu matumizi ya ardhi, biashara, na sera za kitaifa kwa maeneo ya wafugaji, hasa nyika za umasaini na maeneo makame ya Afrika ya Mashariki. Kitini hiki kinachoeleza mfumo wa kusaidia ufanyaji maamuzi, Kudumisha uhusiano kati … Continue reading
Bone dry, dusty and windy, the vast plains outside Arusha are often a sight of despair and hopelessness during the height of the dry season. Such was the situation in most of the Maasailand for the past one year. The dreadful situation was too obvious even for travellers along the Great North Road; Arusha- Namanga … Continue reading
In this week’s PLoS Medicine, Jonna Mazet (University of California, Davis) and colleagues describe their work in the Tanzania-based HALI Project, which adopts the ‘One Health’ approach to address emerging zoonoses, recognizing the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health. There is a strong need for integrated health approaches, the authors argue, because explosive human … Continue reading
Faced with difficult choices, a Maasai community in Tanzania was able to get an accurate picture of their land resources with the help of conservationists and GPS receivers. Read more … (ICT Update) Continue reading
Each year a million cows in Africa die from East Coast fever. The disease is spread by tick bites. Young cows are most at risk; they can die within days. Farmers and herders can lose up to half or more of their calves to East Coast fever. The disease is widespread in eleven countries. And … Continue reading
In October, the London International Development Centre (LIDC) organised a workshop to discuss the ‘Impact of Mobile Phones Upon Development and Health’. Three speakers spoke on the use of mobile phones and animal health in Africa: Andrew Hagner (Royal Veterinary College) explained how he and his Undergraduate Research Team used mobile devices to record the … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 