Category: Diplomatic Channel

Positive reports on Nigerian diplomacy and international relations!

FAO Hands Over CAPI System To Federal Ministry Of Agriculture [2017]

In a bid to ensure Nigerians have easy access to more data on agriculture, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Nigeria has handed over the Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) system developed with the support of the Agricultural Market and Information System (AMIS) to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

FAO hands over CAPI System to help investors, agriculture merchants, traders and farmers for informed decisions and optimized activities and income. As part of the deliverables of AMIS, the CAPI System was developed in Nigeria for the collection of agricultural data. The CAPI System will be domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) for supervision and monitoring, following the handover ceremony to the Nigerian Ministry of Agriculture. It is also equipped with capacity to provide near real-time agriculture data, through crowd-sourced data from various players in the agriculture value chain. The platform has a web-based repository that will provide easy access to agricultural data producing agencies and other agricultural market stakeholders across Nigeria.

Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry Of Agriculture, Dr. Bukar Hassan in his words stated:

“The only way agricultural production can be sustained is when the farmers can be able to reach out to various markets to sell their products, ‎and make some returns   to enable them to invest; today’s event gives us a unique opportunity to move   away from traditional marketing system, monitor and evaluation system to a   more digital and sustainable method where we will be able to ensure that   whatever we have produced, figures we are going to have in terms of production is accurate, and therefore food security will be ensured.”

AMIS is an inter-agency platform housed in FAO. This particular project of AMIS is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. AMIS was initiated in 2011 by the Ministers of Agriculture of the G20 countries to improve food market transparency, coordination and monitor price volatility. AMIS participating countries include all G20 Members as well as Spain and seven additional major exporting and importing countries of the four agricultural commodities which AMIS covers (wheat, rice, maize and soybeans).

 

Cross River & Shaanxi Province Sign Trade Partnership Agreement [2017]

Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, has signed a trade partnership agreement with Shaanxi Province in China, Hu Heping, to bolster the injection of capital for business in the state.

cross river

The China-Africa Development Fund, CAD Fund, in May 2016, signed a cooperation agreement with the Shaanxi Government in the capital Xi’an, the first of its kind with a provincial-level partner that aims to boost more investment in the African market.

The Governor of Shaanxi Province, Hu Heping, at the occasion said the agreement had great significance for companies in Shaanxi, spurring them to go abroad and accelerate their steps into Africa. By the trade partnership agreement, he said the two sides will establish Shaanxi Africa Industry Development Fund, which will help local companies in financing, project selection and loans for their businesses in Africa. He added that the China Development Bank, together with CAD Fund, which has nine years of experience in Africa-related investment, will help companies in Shaanxi gain more information and financial aid in their business expansion in Africa. In his words:

“As a province with traditional heavy industry, including energy development and manufacturing, Shaanxi has a good number of companies which have an advantage in mining, oil exploration and large-scale equipment manufacturing. All those sectors are needed in Africa.”

The bank allocated $3.2 billion in the CAD Fund for more than 80 projects, from infrastructure to agriculture to energy resources in 35 African countries including Nigeria. By the end of 2016, the bank hit its target of pooling $5 billion to go into the fund, aiming at further diversifying financial vehicles that facilitate Chinese investment in Africa.

Shaanxi, is a part of the Northwest China region lies in central China, and covers an area of over 205,000 km2 (79,151 sq miles) with about 37 million people.

Alma Sana Wins Healthcare Innovation Award [2017]

Alma Sana, a health organisation in Nigeria is among the four health organisations from developing countries to receive the Healthcare Innovation Award from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Save the Children for its innovation that reduce mortality among children under five.

Alma Sana

Selected from 171 submissions from 30 countries by a judging panel comprising health experts from across the globe, Alma Sana, Nigeria won $100,000 for stimulating parents’ uptake and demand for their children’s immunizations, one of the world’s most powerful tools for reducing under-five mortality and morbidity, through the practice of the child wearing a simple, bracelet.  The bracelets empower mothers by presenting them with a constant and visual reminder of their baby’s vaccination schedules through symbols embedded in the bracelet, turning their babies’ ‘jewellery’ into a vaccine calendar and check-list. The bracelets were designed with input from mothers and nurses, are waterproof, durable, baby-safe, and intended for parents living on US$1.25 or less a day. As the bracelet’s immunisation reminders are represented through symbols and numbers and not words, this different kind of ‘wearable technology’ is suitable for literate and non-literate parents alike.

Other winners are;

  • Association for Humanitarian Development (AHD) in Pakistanfor their inexpensive and versatile water filter unit, which won the largest share of the Award
  • Sinergias in Colombia, the Hardest-to-Reach award winner for a cross-cultural healthcare delivery model for indigenous populations in the Amazon region
  • ARMMAN in India for their free mobile voice call service providing preventative care information to mothers

With more than five million children dying each year before their fifth birthdays, and many more lacking access to basic healthcare, the fourth annual Healthcare Innovation Award has a special focus on innovations providing healthcare for the hardest-to-reach mothers and children.