- In its international initiative to help millions become food secure, the government of the United States will put special focus on women farmers, especially in Africa.
Responding to a group of leading African women scientists in Nairobi yesterday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, noted that women account for as much as 80 percent of Africa's food production, but said they were limited to accessing land, vital services, such as credit, and to improved technologies.
He also said despite the limitations, women in Africa have made outstanding achievements which needed to be applauded.
The African women scientists on Wednesday urged leaders and the US policy-makers to put women at the centre of addressing hunger and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.
The message was send during the visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Agriculture, to research facility, where the women research group, AWARD, also outlined strategies to rid Africa of its hunger crisis.
The African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), which is coordinated by the Gender & Diversity Programme of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), provides 60 fellowships yearly to boost the female talent pool supporting Africa's farmers, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
In its second year running, AWARD has provided fellowships to 121 women scientists from 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, with focus also on strengthening women's leadership capacity.
Hillary Clinton is on an African tour that will discuss strategic positions of the US government’s policies on the continent, including finance and development aid, conflicts, especially in the Horn of Africa as well as other regions.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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