News & Updates
04 November 2016
Aid & Development Africa Summit 2017 moves to Kenya
The Aid & International Development Forum would like to announce that the 2nd annual Aid & Development Africa Summit will be held in Nairobi, Kenya at Safari Park Hotel on the 28th February - 1st March 2017. The Aid & Development Africa Summit 2017 unites regional and global expertise offering a unique opportunity for cross-sector engagement between UN and government agencies, NGOs, donors and the private sector.
read more![[infographic] Communicable Diseases in sub-Saharan East Africa](http://africa.aidforum.org/images/AIDF_Africa_-_Health_in_Sub_Saharan_Africa_CD_download.jpg)
01 November 2016
[infographic] Communicable Diseases in sub-Saharan East Africa
The recent AIDF infographic provides a snapshot of the current health situation in sub-Saharan East Africa. Communicable diseases remain a major public health challenge in the African region, causing a significant burden of illness, disability and mortality. Contributing to the problem is the frequent occurrence of epidemic outbreaks driven by multiple factors, including: weak public health systems, natural disasters or civil unrest leading to displacement of populations and overcrowding, and poor environmental conditions favouring disease transmission.
read more![[infographic] WASH in sub-Saharan East Africa](http://africa.aidforum.org/images/AIDF_Africa_-_Health_in_Sub_Saharan_Africa_download.jpg)
27 October 2016
[infographic] WASH in sub-Saharan East Africa
The Aid & International Development Forum has released an infographic that explores health and WASH in sub-Saharan East Africa. Safe and accessible water is important for public health. Improved water supply and sanitation, and better management of water resources, can boost regions’ economic growth as well as contributing greatly to poverty reduction. The infographic was created in time for the 2nd annual Aid & Development Africa Summit.
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27 October 2016
Eastern Africa: Regional Humanitarian Snapshot
Although the El Niño weather event has passed its impact continues to be felt in the region: food insecurity doubled from 12 million in August 2015 to 23.4 million today. Humanitarian partners are targeting 1.25 million children under ve for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) this year, of which nearly 83 per cent are from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan and Somalia. Violence and rising food insecurity in South Sudan and Burundi have displaced nearly 290,000 people (205,541 refugees and 84,459 internally displaced) in the last 3 months alone. Simultaneous disease outbreaks continue to affect the region, with cholera and acute watery diarrhea as biggest concern.
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25 October 2016
United Nations Day
United Nations Day is observed on the 24th October each year, 2016 marks the 71st anniversary of the United Nation’s creation in 1945. In his last United Nations Day message as Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon highlighted the major progress that has been made towards a more sustainable future through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and in addressing the threat posed by climate change, through the Paris Agreement, which will enter into force on 4th November.
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24 October 2016
World Polio Day
The World Polio Day is marked on 24th October with polio eradication partners celebrating the successes to date and raise awareness for the additional support needed to eradicate the disease and keep the world polio free. Conflict limits consistent access to high-risk populations in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, which in turn hinders efforts to vaccinate every single child under five and compromises early warning systems. In Nigeria, UNICEF launched a vaccination campaign in response to a rising crisis in its north-east state of Borno. Aiming to immunise more than 41 million children and prevent current polio outbreak from spreading to neighbouring countries, nearly 39,000 health workers were deployed across Nigeria and neighbouring Chad, Niger, Cameroon and the Central African Republic.
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19 October 2016
Top 15 technology solutions transforming humanitarian relief and development aid in Africa
Developed at the South Africa National Bioinformatics Institute at the University of the Western Cape, Hyrax Biosciences has created a HIV drug testing technology in the cloud based on an Amazon Web Services (AWS). Exatype tests HIV drug resistance with unprecedented speed and accuracy and at a fraction of the cost (previously it cost 300-500$ to complete a single resistance test).
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17 October 2016
World Food Day: “Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too”
The right to food is a basic human right; however, some 795 million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy and active life. That equates to about one in nine people on earth. On Sunday 16th October, people around the world will come together to declare their commitment to eradicate hunger in our lifetime. Because when it comes to hunger, “the only acceptable number in the world is zero.” This year’s theme “Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too” focuses on one of the most pressing issues related to climate change, food security.
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14 October 2016
Global Handwashing Day: “Make Handwashing a Habit!”
Global Handwashing Day, observed on the 15th October, is dedicated to spreading awareness and increasing understanding about the importance of washing hands with soap as an effective and affordable means of preventing disease and ultimately saving lives. Global Handwashing Day is endorsed by a wide array of governments, international institutions, civil society organizations, NGOs, private companies, and individuals; with over 200 million people being involved in celebrations in over 100 countries.
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04 October 2016
Lessons learned from the recent drought response in Ethiopia
Drought, worsened by El Niño effects, is having a devastating impact on the lives and livelihoods of 10.2 million Ethiopians. The lack of rainfall, and subsequent great drought, has caused a massive spike in humanitarian needs, which are expected to continue through the remaining of 2016 and well into next year. Close to 200 Government, UN, NGO and donor representatives visited affected communities across Ethiopia’s nine regions to assess humanitarian needs of the people affected by the crisis.
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21 September 2016
Aid & Development Africa Summit 2016 Highlights
Gathering 250+ representatives from governments, UN agencies, NGOs, donors and private sector companies, the Aid & Development Africa Summit 2016 looked at how technological innovations and best practice can improve aid delivery and development strategy in East Africa. The AIDF Africa Summit provided comprehensive overview of the latest trends around humanitarian logistics, community health, WASH, security of aid workers and communities, camp management, mobile for development, financing, communication with communities and among aid agencies.
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21 September 2016
Africa’s Mobile Money
The importance of digital communication and finance is becoming increasingly important in Africa’s strides towards lifting the some of the poorest nations in Africa (and so by extension, the world) out of the extreme poverty they’ve come to know. Ericsson Ltd (telecommunications) has made the decision to establish the Emergency Wallet in order to supply African countries struggling with the cost of crises. Indeed, several African nations have benefitted greatly with the added economic growth; there approximately over 16 million active users with access to online banking services – with over two billion people with no online financial access, this is seen an area of vast potential.
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