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COP27: Pilot programme to bring climate change courses to African universities

COP27: Pilot programme to bring climate change courses to African universities

STEVE UMIDHA, BIRD STORY AGENCY AN educational programme set to launch in 2023 will give university students across the African continent a chance to learn more about climate change and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), so they can "become ambassadors for the change process". GAIA Education, an international NGO, is readying the concept for launch early in 2023 through a pilot programme involving 15 of Africa's leading universities. It has roped in top academics from the continent through a partnership with the Association of African Universities, headquartered in Ghana, the SDG Centre for Africa based in Rwanda and the…
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Nigeria needs more social science research: how to boost output

Nigeria needs more social science research: how to boost output

Authors ABIODUN EGBETOKUN, Assistant Director, Research, National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM) ADEDAYO OLOFINYEHUN, Researcher, National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM) SUB-SAHARAN Africa faces some of the biggest challenges to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. For instance, Nigeria has at least 87 million people in extreme poverty. The country’s unemployment rate was over 33.3%, the second highest in the world, at the end of 2020. These kinds of challenges are the business of social science — the branch of science concerned with society and human behaviours. Social science research helps in understanding and developing solutions to complex problems including climate…
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If women farmers were politicians, the world would be fed, says Danielle Nierenberg

If women farmers were politicians, the world would be fed, says Danielle Nierenberg

BUSANI BAFANA WOMEN, key contributors to agriculture production, are missing at the decision table, with alarming consequences, says Food Tank President Danielle Nierenberg in an exclusive interview with IPS. Giving women a seat at the policymaking table could accelerate Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and keep the world fed and nourished. This necessitates a transformation of the currently lopsided global food system, she says. Nierenberg, a top researcher and advocate on food systems and agriculture, acknowledges that women are the most affected during environmental or health crises. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global food production, affecting women farmers and food producers who…
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UN faces $100 trln shortfall in fight against climate change, inequality – report

UN faces $100 trln shortfall in fight against climate change, inequality – report

SIMON JESSOP  GLOBAL goals tackling poverty, inequality, injustice and climate change face a $100 trillion funding shortfall and are likely to be missed unless 10% of global economic output is directed to the U.N. targets every year to 2030, a report on Friday said. The U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals set targets on everything from the environment to health and equality and have the support of all member states, yet the supply of finance from governments, investors, banks and companies to help meet them has consistently fallen short. Hampered by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the annual shortfall is now…
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UN urges divided world to unite against COVID-19

UN urges divided world to unite against COVID-19

MATTHEW LAVIETES  THE United Nations has urged a divided world to unite against a virus that ignores all borders, saying the pandemic could delay by a decade its goal to end global inequalities. A new U.N. report estimated that the novel coronavirus has unleashed the worst recession in 90 years, threatening to derail its ambitious list of 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The goals, approved in 2015 with a 15-year deadline, aim to end hunger, gender inequality and violence against women, while expanding access to education and health care in poorer nations. "What this pandemic has proven beyond all doubt is…
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Grid or solar: looking for the best energy solution for the rural poor

Grid or solar: looking for the best energy solution for the rural poor

SOUTH Asia has made tremendous progress in connecting rural areas to the electricity grid but the number of people in Africa without access has scarcely changed since 2010. More than half a billion people in Africa don’t have access to electricity, meaning the continent hosts 72% of the world’s non-electrified population. The UN Sustainable Development Goals have set a universal goal of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. To achieve this, the continent will require a big electrification push. But what kind of electricity makes sense in rural Africa to make the most…
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Beyond the pandemic – better governance for a green Africa

Beyond the pandemic – better governance for a green Africa

ABDOULIE JANNEH COVID-19 has joined the climate emergency at a time when Africa is facing what Mo Ibrahim calls “a crisis in leadership and governance.”  This crisis seems all the worse when we define governance as the delivery of goods and services that citizens legitimately expect their governments to deliver. Citizen’s expectations relate to the promotion and support of human rights and participation, safety and rule of law, socio-economic opportunities and human development. In view of the very mixed progress made so far in meeting these entirely reasonable expectations, the permanent question is how to apply Africa’s abundant wealth in…
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