Environmental Protection: GreenAid Plants 1500 Trees in Kaduna

By

-

27/09/2016

tree-planting — Tree planting exercise (phooe: PMNews)

In an effort to protect the environment and make it more friendly, GreenAid Kaduna (A Non-Governmental Organization), has commenced the planting of 1500 trees in Unguwar Kudu (Ungwan Rimi), a suburb community of Kaduna metropolis.

Trees to be planted include; mango trees, orange, guava, oil bean and the local dinya trees among others.

GreenAid in its advancing sustainability programmes is involved in environmental sustainability, climate-smart agriculture, disaster risk reduction, climate change, agro forestry and renewable energy.

Executive Director of the organization Tabi Joda, explained at the tree planting ceremony that the trees planted are meant to assist in providing conducive atmosphere to the immediate environment such as, “fresh air, protection from direct heat of the sun, wind breaker, source of traditional medicine as well as food from the fruits.”

He also added that tree planting could also help in controlling earthquake, flood, hurricane wind and storm; pointing out that the organization’s aim is to further boost disposition of a better health.

Jodda however appealed to the residents to take of the trees planted and continue with the habit of tree planting especially economic trees as well as maintain a clean environment.

In his remarks, the Village Head of Unguwar Kudu, Jibril Mohammed Jibo, thanked GreenAid for their gesture and appealed to his subjects to ensure that the trees are well taken care of.

Tanzania: Legal Human Rights Centre Raises Alarm Over Rising Incidents of Rape – Daily Times

By

Africaprimenews

-

27/09/2016

0

Incidents of rape and sodomy from January to March last year have increased from 1,585 to 1,765 during the same period this year, according to the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC).

Quoting police sources, Executive Director of LHRC, Dr Helen Kijo-Bisimba, said the statistics have been obtained through gender desks established in all police stations. She disclosed the figures in Dar es Salaam yesterday during a visit to the Kurasini National Orphanage in Temeke municipality as a part of marking the centre’s 21st anniversary since its inception in 1995.

“Incidents of male children being sodomized are increasing. Police statistics show that from January to July, this year, about 2,571 male and female children are reported to have been raped and sodomized,” she said.

Quoting a police spokesperson, Dr Bisimba said the figures could be higher as some victims do not report cases of rape and sodomy to police stations. The police report says 1,203 cases are still under investigation while 822 cases are in court.

A total of 234 have sentenced to various jail terms. Quoting a research conducted by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the government, shows that four out of ten children (boys and girls) have been sodomized or raped more than three times.

The figures show that 49 percent of children rights violations happen at home while 23 per cent take place when children go to school or home. Dr Bisimba said factors that contribute to street children include early marriages, teenage pregnancies and family misunderstandings. She appealed to the public to build a culture of respect, protect and preserve basic human rights of children.

The head of the Kurasini National Orphanage, Beatrice Lawrence, said that her centre with 75 children faces several challenges that include lack of funds and poor infrastructure.

“Recently we received 54 children who were living in hostile environment from various part of the city following an order by the Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner (RC) Paul Makonda to remove all street children in the city.

Culled from Daily Times

Edo Re-Run Election: Police Urges Officers To Be Apolitical

By

Africaprimenews

-

27/09/2016

0

Orders Activation of Revised Security Operation Plan

The Nigeria Police Force has reiterated its commitment to ensuring that the rescheduled Edo Gubernatorial Election is conducted in an atmosphere of peace; ordering the activation of the revised security operation plan for the governorship election slated to hold throughout the State on Wednesday, 28^th September, 2016.

Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim K Idris in a statement explained that, the revised election security operation plan will guarantee free, fair and credible election, securing electoral process, and enable eligible voters exercise their franchise freely before, during and after the election.

He added that, the Police will be firm and decisive in dealing with any infractions of the law, actions and activities that constitute breach of peace and contrary to public order; saying, the Police will mobilize and deploy adequate resources and personnel to prosecute the Edo Governorship election conclusively.

“To this end, in order to achieve the expected outcome of credible election acceptable to all stakeholders, the police will deploy: Twenty Five Thousand (25,000.00) conventional Police Officers, Tactical Teams (Police Mobile Force PMF, Counter Terrorism Unit, Explosive Ordinance Disposal, Special Protection Unit, Force Animal Branch, Police Air wing- Aerial patrol, and Marine Police Unit – Riverine Patrol.

“This is in addition to the deployment of other sister agencies to ensure a robust security template for the election. Also, Police Helicopters, gun boats, Armoured Personnel Carriers, Police Dogs and technical platforms will be deployed,” he emphasized.

While advising residents of Edo to be law abiding and be of good conduct, Idris urged all the security officers deployed for the election to behave in an acceptable manner, saying they should maintain apolitical disposition and strictly adhere to the rules of engagement.

The IGP has also directed the Commissioner of Police in Edo State to enforce the restriction of vehicular movement from (00:00) 12 midnight Tuesday, 27^thSeptember,2016 to (18:00hrs) 6pm 28^th September, 2016 except those involved in essential duties who must be properly identified.

Traditional, Religious Leaders In Kaduna Pledge Active Role In Promoting Family Planning

By

Africaprimenews

-

26/09/2016

0

By Sekyen Dadik

Kaduna (Nigeria) — In spite of efforts by government and stakeholders to reduce maternal mortality in Kaduna, the ratio still remains disturbing as the state loses about 150 women monthly, that is five (5) women every day from pregnancy related complications.

To reduce this burden to the barest minimum, traditional and religious leaders must recognize their role as community influencers and ensure they educate and enlighten their followers to adhere to practices that promote maternal and child health care.

This was the position of Nigeria Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI), an NGO and FHANI/ISSA an advocacy core group, at the just concluded roundtable meeting to sensitize traditional and religious leaders on child birth spacing to reduce maternal mortality.

State Team Lead of NURHI, Malam Kabir Abdullahi noted that such meetings “were not out for a decline in population, but to promote the health of women and children in Kaduna state.”

He added that “there cannot be meaningful development when a larger part of the society is holding unto particular patterns of behavior that are of great risk to health and development.

Hence, Kabir said the meeting was aimed at promoting attitudinal change amongst the traditional and religious circle.

In His presentation, Deputy Director of Public Health, Kaduna state Ministry of Health and Human Services, Malam Abubakar Lawal identified socio-cultural and economic factors as major causes of maternal mortality.

According to him, “low status of women, poverty, poor nutrition, ignorance and illiteracy, religious beliefs and harmful traditional practices” were some of the challenges facing childbirth spacing and maternal health in the state.

He therefore tasked traditional and religious leaders to use the opportunity they have to reach out to their communities on the need for child spacing and its benefit for maternal health.

Lawal called on the leaders to sensitize their followers on the need to promote girl child education as a long term panacea for maternal health issues, emphasising regular antenatal care visits and support from husbands as immediate solution.

He stressed that maternal mortality rate can be reduced by 40 per cent if birth is spaced for at least two years.

Participants who were drawn from the traditional and religious sphere from different parts of the state unanimously agreed to contribute their quota in reducing maternal deaths by sensitizing their followers on child spacing.

The highlight of the discussion was the signing of the Pledges-Signature Board by all the participants as a sign of their commitment to the cause.

Seeking To Reverse Nigeria’s Family Planning Stagnation

By

Africaprimenews

-

26/09/2016

0

By Dimos Sakellaridis
It’s shocking that after many years of family planning promotion in Nigeria, the percentage of married women using modern contraception is only 9.8 percent(Nigeria Demographic & Health Survey 2013). That figure hardly changed from the 9.7 percent recorded five years previously.

That’s lower than all countries in West Africa except Gambia, Guinea and Mauritania, according to the 2016 World Population Data Sheet. The average for all of West Africa is 13%.

Clearly, family planning has stagnated in Nigeria over the last 17 years. The reasons are many but certainly family planning myths that contraceptives damage a women’s health play a huge role. Actually, the opposite is true: Contraceptives improve the health of women and children.

World Contraception Day on Sept. 26 provides a good opportunity to reflect on the current situation and how we can improve on it so that every Nigerian woman who wants contraception can find and access it.

The good news is that 16.1% of married women in Nigeria want to use family planning but are not using it now. The figure is even higher among sexually active unmarried women: 21.8 percent of them want to use contraception. This provides us with a huge opportunity for reaching these women who are already convinced about the value of contraception and how it can help their families.

Why family planning? Decades of research have shown that modest investments in family planning can save lives and improve maternal and child health. On the global stage, there is a growing effort to emphasize family planning because of the cross cutting role it plays in contributing to many, if not most, of the broader development goals.

And if that is not compelling enough, consider that family planning has been proven to be one of the most cost-effective health interventions. In short, family planning improves the economic well-being of families, communities and nations.

My organization, DKT International, came to Nigeria in 2013 to help change the family planning paradigm. Using social marketing, we launched Kiss and Fiesta condoms, Postpill emergency contraception, Levofem oral contraceptive, Sayana Press injectable, Implanon NXT and Jadelle implants, Lydia intrauterine devices (IUDs) and Miso-Fem (Misoprostol). After only three years, we contributed 14% of Nigeria’s contraceptive prevalence rate in 2015.

We plan to introduce other products like contraceptive vaginal rings, Caya diaphragm, hormonal IUS, post-partum IUD and various contraceptive pills in the near future so that every women finds her most suitable form of contraception. We want to make affordable contraceptives as easily available in Nigeria as Coca-Cola.

Early this month, we launched a new family planning communications campaign that coincides with World Contraception Day on Sept. 26. The target audience of our campaign is young women ages 18-34 (primary) and young men ages 20-34 (secondary) in the lower middle and working classes of southwest Nigeria. These groups are increasingly well-connected to the internet and social media, and we plan to use these technologies to reach them.

The theme of the campaign is “Be Sharp.” The phrase is common slang that resonates with the target audiences. It means be smart, not dull. It means making the right decisions, especially concerning birth control and contraception, to avoid unwanted surprises.

This new website, http://honeyandbanana.com/, will serve as the central hub of the campaign and will be the destination for other traffic sources, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It will educate our target audiences about our products as well as other topics that interest them.

But we will not rely only on digital and social media. We will also use community radio to reach rural, peri-urban and less connected young people.

Like women’s beauty products or hairstyles, modern family planning should be consumer-oriented and easy to understand, access and use. It should not be a mysterious subject riddled with high-sounding but confusing terms like contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR), method mix and unmet need.

When a woman wants to feel beautiful and attractive, she walks to a nearby store and buys a beauty product or service. Family planning should be obtained for the same consumer benefits — to enable women to feel beautiful by allowing them to manage their fertility and life.

If we can motivate Nigerian women to adopt family planning and support the Nigerian government towards achieving the 36% CPR target for 2018, we will save the lives of many women and girls in Nigeria.
Sakellaridis is the country director of DKT Nigeria, a non-profit and non-governmental organization, and has worked for many years for commercial organizations in different countries including Nigeria.

Nigeria: IED-Ambush Kills Four Soldiers, Injures 19 Others

By

Africaprimenews

-

26/09/2016

0

Nigerian troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE on administration patrol from Maiduguri encountered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and ambush between Miyanti and Dareljamal, Borno State, North-east Nigeria.

Spokesperson of the Nigeria Army Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, said the ambush was cleared and 3 Boko Haram terrorists were killed by the troops, noting that, a Machine Gun, 1 AK-47 Rifle and some quantity of ammunition were recovered.

He said, “Unfortunately, we lost an officer and 3 soldiers, while 16 soldiers and 3 Civilian JTF sustained injuries during the encounter. Similarly, 2 vehicles that entered the IED were badly damaged.

“The wounded have since been evacuated and are in stable condition,” he added.

Unemployment: Establish Africa Skills Development Fund, Nigeria Urges U.S

By

Africaprimenews

-

26/09/2016

0

Nigeria has called on the United States to assist in establishing an Africa Skills Development Fund to facilitate the training of skilled manpower from the army of unemployed African youth.

Nigeria’s Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige made the call while speaking on Day Two of the Labour and Trade Ministerial Roundtable of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) at the Department of labour Building, Washington D.C, United States, where he underscored the importance of such a fund in tackling unemployment and stemming the tide of poverty factors that hinder fair labour practices on the continent.

Ngige who is also the leader of the Nigerian joint Labour and Trade delegation to the Forum said, “Child labour, human trafficking, cheap and slave labour are all products of base factor of poverty which a diverse skills development and empowerment can help tackle. A skilled youth population will make for an all-inclusive social protection for the group as well as being fundamental in tackling poverty in Africa. This will also snowball into entrepreneurship.”

A statement by the deputy director of press to the Minister, Samuel Olowookere noted that the Minister said, “core to the cardinal vision of President Buhari administration in Nigeria is decent job creation, proper engagement of the Nigerian youths through different skills acquisition, training and the provision of critical infrastructures that promote self-reliance as key to worker rights.”

He said government’s effort is hinged on the united Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the Africa Union Plan of Action on Employment and Poverty Alleviation, citing the rejuvenated activities of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN) as clear efforts to shut down poverty gap.

Sen. Ngige described as erroneous the impression in some international quarters that Nigerian government through their laws is labour-restrictive. He drew attention to the deep constitutional provisions, especially section 40 of the Nigerian constitution on freedom to association and unionize labour friendly inclinations of successive Nigerian governments, which has been deepened under the present government and insisted that democratic tenets have rather guided every decisions on labour.

Contributing to the panel discussion on “Integrating Labour and Trade Policies Under AGOA” Sen. Ngige said the nation’s occupational safety monitoring and standard were weak and appealed for support in equipping and the training of inspectors in this special area that requires competent professionals from various fields like medical doctors specializing in occupational health, engineers of various disciplines, biochemists, occupational safety professionals that special technical assistance. He added that sub-regional integration of occupational safety practices is necessary to assist peer review among sister nations.

He linked the militating factors of Nigeria’s development to corruption, hence, the zero tolerance of the present administration and its iron cast resolve to stamp it out. He said Nigeria needed the full cooperation of the international community, especially the United States in tracking and returning the stolen funds.”

Earlier, the moderating United States under Secretary for International Labour Affairs, Eric Biel called for integrated labour and trade policies, arguing that regional cooperation on labour and trade matters as well as incorporation of rights are critical elements of AGOA utilization strategy.

He urged the participating ministers to identify and discuss country-specific goals, outcomes and challenges to form the substance of 2017 AGOA Forum.

Nigerian Troops Repel Gunmen, Arrest Six Suspects In Godogodo

By

Africaprimenews

-

26/09/2016

0

By Longtong Ibrahim

Kaduna (Nigeria) – Troops of 1 Division of the Nigerian Army in a joint operation with personnel of the Nigeria Police Force and local vigilantes have arrested six suspected attackers of Godogodo community in Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna state.

Spokesperson of the Nigerian Army Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, said the troops also fought off the attackers and pursued them into the bush inflicting heavy casualty on them.

According to him, The suspects includes; Lawal Gambo, Yau Sani, Bala Amodu, Ibrahim Maikaru, Abubakar Hassan and Bashiru Isa Ciroma.

He added that, “unfortunately 4 local vigilantes lost their lives while another 9 were wounded in the course of countering the dastardly attack meant to cause more loss of lives and properties of law abiding citizens of Godogodo Town.

“The situation in Godogo Town has since returned to normalcy and efforts are ongoing to track the remaining fleeing bandits.”

Usman however reassured citizens that the effort to safeguard lives and properties will continue with renewed vigour until all the rampaging bandits are brought to justice.

Africa Prime News

Africa Prime News

Africa Prime News

Africa Prime News

Currency Exchange Rates

Africa Prime News

About us

Company

The latest

Subscribe