A lot has happened in rural development in the past week. However, as part of our tradition, we bring you some of the most important reports on development in rural Africa and its environs. The reports include some of our top picks from recent must-read research, interviews, reports, blogs and in-depth articles which have been carefully selected to help you keep up with global issues. Here are some of the updates you may have missed from the previous week:
KZN medical students not keen on rural internships
Medical students in the province have openly revolted against a new programme aimed at placing them in KwaZulu-Natal’s rural areas for internships.
The students told Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo on Tuesday that they did not want the programme because it was not equipped to accommodate their needs.
For Kenya’s young, liberal women, sex has never been a taboo
Divergence between the ideal and actual age for debut sex suggests that Kenyan youth are well-informed of the dangers of underage and premarital sex, even though most chose to ignore the perils. It could also absolve parents from accusations of being irresponsible in bringing up their children. The findings could compound concerns among parents, who often have to be away at work from home for long hours while their children remain at home. The situation has worsened now that the option of holiday tuition as a means of keeping them occupied was removed from the table. But in a rather surprise finding that might defy popular perception, children in urban areas were better-cushioned from exposure to early sex than their rural counterparts.
Female and rural farmers focus of agro-processing conference
The story of the success of the Buhle Farmers’ Academy was told on the first day of the Agro-Processing Africa Conference held at Irene Farm in Centurion, Gauteng.
Delegates heard how the academy grew from training 50 students in 2000 to 500 a year by 2016. These students were trained to manage their own farming businesses.
Discussions at the conference, which took place on 29 and 30 November, explored various initiatives relating to agro-processing on the continent. It also examined the challenges in the sector. One of the topics was “The benefits of capacity building in African agriculture”. It was said that more women should be business owners or in managerial positions, because women paid great attention to detail.
Cuban trained SA doctors strive to serve rural communities
Doctors who’ve studied medicine in Cuba say they’ve learnt that rural communities deserve good medical practitioners.
In an attempt to reverse the shortage of doctors in rural areas, South Africa has been sending students to study medicine in Cuba since the early 90s. According to the National Department of Health, since 1996 over 400 doctors have been trained in Cuba and are currently serving in rural areas across the country.
Nigeria Records Highest Malaria Deaths In 2015
The Chief Executive Officer of Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria, Dr. Muntaqa Sadiq, has lamented the high rate of Malaria cases in Nigeria, saying over 100 million malaria cases and about 300,000 deaths were recorded in 2015.
Speaking at the launch of ‘Malaria-to-Zero initiative’, a project that seeks to galvanise private sector resources towards averting 1 million malaria cases by 2020, Sadiq said Nigeria has the highest number of malaria casualties worldwide.