Tag Archives: USAID

Climate Change / Drought / East Africa / Eritrea / Ethiopia / Food Security / Geodata / Kenya / Pastoralism / Somalia / Vulnerability

We had effective famine early warning systems in place in the Horn: So what went wrong?

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Village scene in Gash-Barka, a region of Eritrea considered a breadbasket and with some 3.5 million head of livestock (photo on Flickr by Charles Fred). Scientist Chris Funk, who is part of a Climate Hazard Group at the University of California at Santa Barbara and also works with the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), … Continue reading →

Animal Products / Cattle / Dairying / East Africa / Food Safety / ILRI / Kenya / Markets / Rwanda / Uganda

When small-scale dairying becomes smart-scale dairying: Transformation via ‘dairy hubs’

Posted on by • 1 Comment

Slide in a presentation by Moses Nyabila on progress in the East African Dairy Development Project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in which Heifer International and ILRI are two partners; the presentation was made at a USAID Bureau for Food Security Webinar on 22 June 2011 in Washington, DC (slide credit: Heifer … Continue reading →

A4NH / Agri-Health / Animal Diseases / Diagnostics / Disease Control / East Africa / Epidemiology / Event / Human Health / ILRI / Kenya / Middle East / RVF / Trade / Zoonotic Diseases

Kenya forges new pact with Horn and Middle East in old war against deadly Rift Valley fever

Posted on by • Leave a comment

The pathogenesis of Rift Valley fever. Viruses 2011, 3(5), 493-519; doi:10.3390/v3050493 (image credit: A J Cann’s Flickr photostream). Kenya’s Business Daily newspaper reports that Kenya is forging a new pact in an old war against the deadly mosquito-transmitted ‘zoonotic’—human plus livestock—disease called Rift Valley fever. ‘Kenya has partnered with neighbouring stats to boost surveillance on Rift Valley … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Asia / Caribbean / Latin America / USA

‘Helping farmers become self-sufficient is one of the most effective ways to reduce poverty and hunger’–Gates and Shah

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Fatima Kagenda, 53-year-old maize, potato and cassava farmer, as well as dressmaker and church treasurer, in the village of Khulungira, in central  Malawi, with hoe, crutches and knitting (photo credit: ILRI/CGIAR/Mann). The international development website Devex reports this week that billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates and Rajiv Shah, administrator of the United States Agency for International … Continue reading →

Drought / Food Security / Kenya / North America / USA

Improve US food aid by adding animal-source protein–Oxfam

Posted on by • Leave a comment

An undernourished child in Kenya drinks store-bought ‘maziwa lala’ (sour milk) (photo credit: ILRI/Elsworth). Eric Muñoz, a policy adviser for Oxfam America, blogs in the Guardian about a new report that takes a hard look at the commodities the US uses to respond to disaster and food insecurity, such as is unfolding in the Horn of … Continue reading →

Animal Diseases / Emerging Diseases / Epidemiology / Livestock / Zoonotic Diseases

USAID creates online mapping tool to track animal diseases

Posted on by • Leave a comment

A new online mapping tool will enable scientists and the public to track outbreaks of animal diseases that might jump to humans. The tool, known as Predict, will be at http://www.healthmap.org/predict. Created with a grant from the United States Agency for International Development, it is being produced by experts on human and animal diseases from … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / Asia / Latin America

With Clinton and Shah, will USAID regain its leadership role in development assistance?

Posted on by • Leave a comment

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton with women from AWARD—African Women in Agricultural Research and Development—during a tour of the headquarters of the Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute, in Nairobi, Kenya, 5 August 2009; Sheila Ommeh, a Kenyan AWARD Fellow and geneticist studying Kenya’s native chicken breeds at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), is … Continue reading →

Africa / Climate Change / East Africa / ILRI / Kenya / NRM / Pastoralism / Wildlife / WLE

Colorado, Kenyan and ILRI researchers team up to help Maasai herders adapt to climate change

Posted on by • 1 Comment

Red sky over Maasai rangeland (photo credit: ILRI). From a Colorado State University press release yesterday (27 October 2010) comes the following news. Researchers from Colorado, Kenya and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Kenya are launching a project that will ultimately help Maasai livestock herders in Kenya adapt to impacts from climate change. … Continue reading →

Africa / Agriculture / East Africa / Food Security / Kenya

Kenya receives Sh2.5b aid to boost food security

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Kenya has received Sh2.5 billion from the US Government to boost the country’s food security and eradicate hunger. Part of the funds will be used to fund agricultural related activities and nutrition. Speaking on Wednesday during the signing ceremony of a Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) in Nairobi, US ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger … Continue reading →

Animal Diseases / Animal Health / Disease Control / East Africa / Ethiopia / Kenya / Sudan / Tanzania

Veterinary officers meet to strengthen animal disease control in eastern Africa

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Chief veterinary officers and heads of central veterinary laboratories from 10 countries met in Zanzibar from 24 to 26 Aug 2010 to plan how to enhance the preparedness, prevention and management of animal diseases. Participants recommended strengthening regional cooperation and collaboration, particularly with key partners such as the Africa Union/Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources, the World … Continue reading →