Rural Health in South Africa, Insecurity, and Other Reports
Every week, RuralReporters.com collate reports on development issues in rural Africa and its environs.
This report includes some of our top picks from recent must-read research, interviews, blogs, and in-depth articles, carefully selected to help you keep up with global issues.
Here are some of the updates you may have missed from the previous week:
Austerity Is Hurting Rural Health in South Africa, Says Report
Rural communities in South Africa, which make up 40% of the population, face immense difficulties in accessing adequate healthcare, according to a report titled Protecting Rural Healthcare in Times of Economic Crisis. The report was launched on Tuesday by the Rural Healthcare Advocacy Project (RHAP) in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
“We have a constitution which states that all people have a right to healthcare, yet rural communities continue to face difficulties accessing healthcare,” said RHAP Director Russell Rensburg.
The report says: “Rural citizens have been discriminated against. They have not received an equitable share of public health financing as historically the emphasis has been on urban areas and hospitals, as opposed to rural communities and primary healthcare.”
Northern Elders: There’s Serious Irresponsibility of Governance in Nigeria
Elder statesmen from Northern Nigeria, under the umbrella of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), have lamented the “irresponsibility of governance” in the country. They also accused the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration of not doing enough to combat insecurity in the northern part of the country.
Ango Abdullahi, the NEF Chairman called on the President to demonstrate a higher level of concern and sensitivity to the plight of traumatised citizens, especially in Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Benue, Niger, Plateau and Taraba states.
“Agriculture, which is our pride and major employer of labour and contributor to Gross Domestic Product, has been ruined as rural dwellers are living in perpetual fear of terrorists or bandits attacks while highways become death traps to travelers.
“Why are the problems becoming difficult to solve? Is it because of the challenges of under-funding the police and security apparatus or is it the challenge of problem analyses or policy failure?
Emir Laments Absence of Security Presence in Zamfara Rural Areas
The Emir of Anka Alhaji Attahiru Muhammad Ahmad has lamented the absence of security in some areas in Zamfara state.
Ahmad said problems in Zamfara state started as mere local animal thefts but gradually transformed into organized crimes – According to him, there is no security presence in all the areas armed bandits are operating in the state There is no presence of security operatives in Zamfara state’s rural communities, the Emir of Anka and the chairman Zamfara State Council of Chiefs Alhaji Attahiru Muhammad Ahmad said on Wednesday, April 10.
Kenyan Villager Clears Way For a New Road — By Hand
Beginning a new road usually requires massive equipment such as bulldozers and excavators, but for 45-year-old Nicholas Muchami, all it takes is a spade, a hoe and an axe.
Using hand tools, Muchami has been clearing a path for a road through the thick bush in his village, Kaganda, 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi. The road in Muchami’s village was marked for completion five years ago by local leaders, but work on it had yet to start. So he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Muchami’s story was highlighted on Facebook by Ndagitari Kinyungu Micheke Jnr, who posted photos of the ongoing work, and praised Muchami for his relentlessness. The Facebook post says Muchami had already cleared about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile).
Rapid Urbanization Increasing Pressure on Rural Water Supplies Globally
An international team of researchers has carried out the first systematic global review of water reallocation from rural to urban regions — the practice of transferring water from rural areas to cities to meet demand from growing urban populations.
The study, published in Environmental Research Letters, found North America and Asia are hotspots for rural-to-urban water reallocation, with the practice on the rise in Asia. Twenty-one cities rely on multiple water reallocation projects, such as Amman in Jordan and Hyderabad in India.
The researchers observed that cities often hold the economic and political sway in water deals. When rural regions are not involved in the design, development and implementation of a reallocation project, reallocation can deepen inequality and foster resentment and resistance.
Tender: Côte d’Ivoire calls for rural electrification works
Côte d’Ivoire Energies solicits closed bids from eligible bidders to carry out rural electrification works in the region of Upper Sassandra in five lots.
The contracts resulting from this invitation to tender will be passed on unit prices.
Interested bidder can obtain information and take cognizance of tender documents from the PTDAE Management Unit at Abidjan Plateau Avene Verdier, EECI Building, PURE Office between 8:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 17:00 from Monday to Friday.
Tel: 20 20 61 82/60 84
Email: ddiarra@cinergies.ci or rguira@cinergies.ci
AECF launches a £16 million competition to fund businesses in sub-Saharan Africa
The Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) in partnership with United Kingdom government has launched the Household Solar Round 2 competition worth £ 16 million.
The competition seeks to accelerate access to transformative solar home systems to the rural poor households in Ethiopia, Somalia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal.
“Renewables provide just 18% of Africa’s current power generating capacity, therefore developing off-grid alternatives could create many more opportunities and transform millions of lives. Solar home systems are a simple solution that do not appear in the macro-economic statistics yet they have the ability to transform the lives of millions of school children,” Daniel Ohonde, CEO, The AECF.
Program launched to help Kenyan farmers access agri-tech by 2022
A group of partners, led by the World Bank Group, ran a challenge competition from 5-6 April to identify Kenya’s most promising agri-tech innovations with the aim of getting one million Kenyan farmers onto a digital platform over the next three years.
The first cohort of agri-tech innovators, along with two further cohorts selected annually thereafter will be eligible to apply for competitive grants totalling US $1 million to facilitate scaling up. They will also have access to in-kind “incubation” support over a 12- to 18-month period.
Each year, the Challenge will receive new applicants that will go through this same cycle; with the top 5-10 innovators winning the opportunity to participate in the agri-tech incubator.
