Author: pr.web

Preliminary findings of two Marburg virus cases have prompted Ghana to prepare for a potential outbreak of the disease. If confirmed, these would the first such infections recorded in the country, and only the second in West Africa. Marburg is a highly infectious viral haemorrhagic fever in the same family as the more well-known Ebola virus disease.

Preliminary analysis of samples taken from two patients by the country’s Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research indicated the cases were positive for Marburg, and samples have been sent to the Institut Pasteur in Senegal, a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre, for confirmation.

The two, unrelated, patients from the southern Ashanti region showed symptoms including diarrhoea, fever, nausea and vomiting. They have both died.

WHO mobilizes health experts

Preparations for a possible outbreak response are being set up swiftly as further investigations are underway, and WHO is deploying experts to support Ghana’s health authorities by bolstering disease surveillance, testing, tracing contacts, preparing to treat patients and working with communities to alert and educate them about the risks and dangers of the disease and to collaborate with the emergency response teams.

“The health authorities are on the ground investigating the situation and preparing for a possible outbreak response”, said Dr Francis Kasolo, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Ghana. “We are working closely with the country to ramp up detection, track contacts, be ready to control the spread of the virus”.

If confirmed, the cases in Ghana would mark the second time Marburg has been detected in West Africa. Guinea confirmed a single case in an outbreak that was declared over on 16 September 2021, five weeks after the initial case was detected.

High fatality rates

Previous outbreaks and sporadic cases of Marburg in Africa have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda.

Marburg is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials. Illness begins abruptly, with high fever, severe headache and malaise.

Many patients develop severe haemorrhagic signs within seven days. Case fatality rates have varied from 24% to 88% in past outbreaks depending on virus strain and case management.

Although there are no vaccines or antiviral treatments approved to treat the virus, supportive care – rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids – and treatment of specific symptoms, improves survival. A range of potential treatments, including blood products, immune therapies, and drug therapies.

Source: UN News Center

The malnutrition charts on the walls of the nutrition unit at the Medina health centre paint a worrying picture. The numbers of malnourished mothers and children needing treatment are well above emergency levels.

Alarm bells usually start ringing when more than ten children are treated for malnutrition in any given month, and an emergency is declared if the number exceeds 30.

But this health centre in Garissa town in Kenya’s drought-ravaged north-eastern region has passed its emergency indicator. In May, 52 children were treated for malnutrition – up from 34 in April.

A severe drought caused by four consecutive failed rainy seasons in the Horn of Africa region has left over 18 million people facing severe hunger.

More than 4 million of them live in the arid and semi-arid regions of northern and eastern Kenya. An estimated 942,000 children aged under-5 and 135,000 pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers are acutely malnourished and in need of treatment, up from 755,000 and 103,000 respectively since February.

Sadia Abdullahi, a nutritionist at the health centre says she first noticed a significant rise in malnutrition cases in October 2021.

“We are seeing more and more wasted children and pregnant and breastfeeding women,” she says. “The situation is getting worse with each passing day.”

The drought has also killed over 1.5 million livestock – a source of food and income for the mainly pastoralist communities of this region. Children are not getting enough milk and what animals remain are too thin and sell for little in the markets.

But drought is not the only factor affecting the food security of people in this part of Kenya. The economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, rising prices and now the impact of the conflict in Ukraine on food and energy prices threatens to further increase hunger levels.

Sadia Adow is one of around 15 pregnant women and mothers who’ve received treatment for malnutrition over the past two months. Although her weight has increased, her mid-upper arm circumference still measures only 21 cm. It should be a minimum of 23cm.

“I come from a poor family where we don’t have enough to eat and that’s why my body is weak,” she says.

Some 35 kilometres away at the Sankuri health centre, Fatuma has brought her 6-month-old son Abdullahi for treatment.

“He is weak because there is very little food at home. I don’t even have enough breast milk for him,” says Fatuma.

Abdullahi is given 14 sachets of nutrient-packed peanut-based paste – one per day for the next two weeks when he will return for another check-up and possibly more sachets.

Fatuma has five children. Three have already been treated for malnutrition. In May, the Sankuri health centre treated more than 40 mothers and children, says Fiona Temesi, the nutritionist in charge.

“Normally we treat an average of 15 to 20 malnourished mothers and children per month,” she says.

The World Food Programme (WFP) in partnership with national and county governments is responding to the immediate needs of nearly 19,000 drought-affected families through emergency cash and food distributions, while addressing the long-term needs of 370,000 people through resilience initiatives.

These include supporting vulnerable communities with irrigation systems, beekeeping apiaries, chicken coups, fishponds, rainwater harvesting dams, and providing farmers with seeds and mechanized farm tools.

WFP requires an additional US$130 million over the next 12 months to provide more drought-affected families with assistance. This will cover food and cash for 960,000 and blanket supplementary feeding for 486,000 children and 122,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women in the worst affected counties.

Source: World Food Programme

Rome – The barometer for world food commodity prices declined slightly in June for the third consecutive month, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported today.

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 154.2 points in June 2022, down 2.3 percent from May. The Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of commonly-traded food commodities, remained, however, 23.1 percent higher than in June 2021.

The drop in June reflected declines in the international prices of vegetable oils, cereals and sugar, while dairy and meat prices increased.

The FAO Cereal Price Index averaged 166.3 points in June, down 4.1 percent from May, but still 27.6 percent above its June 2021 value. International wheat prices fell by 5.7 percent in June but remained 48.5 percent above their values a year ago. The decline in June was driven by seasonal availability from new harvests in the northern hemisphere, improved crop conditions in some major producing countries, and higher production prospects in the Russian Federation. International coarse grain prices also fell by 4.1 percent but were still up 18.4 percent from their year-earlier values. World maize prices fell by 3.5 percent month-on-month due to increased seasonal availabilities in Argentina and Brazil and improved crop conditions in the United States of America.

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index averaged 211.8 points in June, down 7.6 percent month-on-month. World palm oil prices declined on seasonally rising output of major producing countries and prospects of increasing supplies from Indonesia. Meanwhile, world sunflower and soy oil prices declined due to subdued global import demand in the wake of rising costs.

The FAO Sugar Price Index averaged 117.3 points in June, down 2.6 percent from May, marking the second consecutive monthly decline and reaching its lowest level since February, influenced by good global availability prospects. Slowing global economic growth also weighed on international sugar demand and prices.

“Although the FAO Food Price Index dropped in June for the third consecutive month, it remained close to the all-time high of March this year. The factors that drove global prices high in the first place are still at play, especially a strong global demand, adverse weather in some major countries, high production and transportation costs, and supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19, compounded by the uncertainties stemming from the ongoing war in Ukraine,” said Máximo Torero Cullen, FAO Chief Economist.

Meanwhile, the FAO Meat Price Index averaged 124.7 points in June, up 1.7 percent from May, setting a new record high and exceeding by 12.7 percent its June 2021 value. World prices across all meat types increased, with those of poultry meat rising sharply, reaching an all-time high, underpinned by the continued tight global supply conditions impacted by the war in Ukraine and the Avian Influenza outbreaks in the Northern Hemisphere.

The FAO Dairy Price Index averaged 149.8 points in June, up 4.1 percent from May and 24.9 percent above its June 2021 value. In June, international prices of all dairy products increased. Cheese prices rose the most, mainly underpinned by a surge in import demand for spot supplies amid market concerns over supply availabilities later in the year. World milk powder prices increased on strong import demand and persistent global supply tightness.

FAO raises its forecast for global cereal production

FAO’s forecast for global cereal production in 2022 was raised by 7 million tonnes in July from the previous month and is now pegged at 2 792 million tonnes, according to the new Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, also released today. This is still 0.6 percent short of the world output in 2021.

The month-on-month increase predominantly rests on a 6.4-million-tonne upward revision made to the coarse grain production forecast, with the world output seen reaching 1 501 million tonnes in 2022, only 0.5 percent below the 2021 outturn.

The forecast for world cereal utilization in 2022/23 has also been lifted, up 9.2 million tonnes to 2 797 million tonnes, but is still 1.7 million tonnes (0.1 percent) below the 2021/22 level, mostly reflecting expectations of lower feed use.

At 854 million tonnes, FAO’s forecast of world cereal stocks at the close of seasons in 2023 is up 7.6 million tonnes from the previous month but still points to a year-on-year contraction of 0.6 percent (5.0 million tonnes). At this level, the global cereal stock-to-use ratio would fall from 30.7 percent in 2021/22 to 29.8 percent in 2022/23.

FAO’s latest forecast for world trade in cereals in 2022/23 stands at 468 million tonnes, up 4.8 million tonnes from last month but representing the lowest level in three seasons and a decrease of 11.4 million tonnes (2.4 percent) from the 2021/22 volume. Accounting for the bulk of the decline, trade in coarse grains is forecast to contract by 4.1 percent (9.5 million tonnes) in 2022/23 (July/June) from the 2021/22 estimated level, largely driven by war-related losses of maize and barley exports from Ukraine.

Further details are available here.

Crop Prospects and Food Situation report

FAO assesses that 46 countries, including 33 in Africa, 10 in Asia, two in Latin America and the Caribbean and one in Europe are in need of external assistance for food, according to the latest Crop Prospects and Food Situation Report, released today by FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS). This list now includes Ukraine, where the war has resulted in significant numbers of displaced persons, and Sri Lanka, which is experiencing a multidimensional crisis that has led to high prices and severe shortages of essential products.

FAO’s forecast for aggregate cereal production of the group of Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries (LIFDCs) in 2022 is pegged at 187.8 million tonnes, a marginal increase compared to the five-year average and the previous year, the report said.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Le Premier ministre Alain Guillaume Bunyoni et son épouse ont partagé la prière dominicale du 03 juillet 2022 avec les fidèles de l’Eglise Elayon de Kanenga, en commune Mpanda de la province Bubanza.
Au cours de sa prédication basée sur la parole de Dieu tirée de 1Pierre2:9-12, Alain Guillaume Bunyoni a appelé les chrétiens de l’église Elayon de Kanenga à couper court avec le péché et s’atteler aux travaux qui glorifient le Seigneur.

Comme une race élue, le Premier ministre Alain Guillaume Bunyoni a invité les fidèles de l’église Elayon à annoncer les vertus du Seigneur, lui qui les a appelés des ténèbres à sa merveilleuse lumière.

Le Premier Ministre a en outre exhorté les fidèles de l’église Elayon de Kanenga à s’abstenir des convoitises charnelles.”Soyez honnêtes afin que même les malfaiteurs glorifient Dieu pour les bonnes œuvres qu’ils voient en vous ” a expliqué Alain Guillaume Bunyoni. Soyez la lumière de vos voisins, priez pour vos leaders religieux afin que certains conflits cessent au sein de l’église, portez honneur à tous, aimez vos prochains et craignez Dieu, a-t-il ajouté.

En marge de la prière, les fidèles de l’église Elayon ont salué la contribution de la famille du Premier Ministre Alain Bunyoni dans la construction de l’église Elayon de Kanenga. Ils ont promis deux vaches et deux moutons, a indiqué le représentant de l’église Elayon. Quant au Premier Ministre Alain Guillaume Bunyoni, il a promis 100 sacs de ciment comme contribution dans les travaux de construction de l’église Elayon de Kanenga.

Source: Radio Television Burundi

Le ministère de la solidarité nationale, des affaires sociales, des droits de la personne humaine et du genre a organisé mardi 05 juillet 2022 à Bujumbura, un atelier de validation nationale du premier rapport périodique de mise en application de la charte africaine des droits et du bien-être de l’enfant, à l’intention de tous les intervenants dans la protection de l’enfance.

Selon l’Assistant du ministre en charge des droits de l’homme Tantine Ncutinamagara, cet atelier avait pour objectif de présenter au public, aux partenaires au développement et à la société civile œuvrant dans la protection de l’enfance, le projet du premier rapport périodique pour qu’ils apportent leurs contributions. Tantine Ncutinamagara a rappelé que le Burundi a ratifié cette charte et a produit le rapport initial, ce rapport périodique vient compléter le rapport initial déjà produit sur la mise en œuvre de cette charte lors de la 31ème session ordinaire du comité africain d’experts tenue du 24 avril au 4 mai 2018 à Bamako.
Pour produire ces rapports, le gouvernement du Burundi à travers le ministère en charge des affaires sociales a mis en place un comité permanent de rédaction des rapports initiaux et périodiques pour que les données soient traitées par des experts des ministères clés.

Selon l’assistant du ministre Tantine Ncutinamagara, le document présenté pour validation est subdivisé en deux parties à savoir l’état de mise en œuvre de la charte par l’Etat du Burundi, les réponses aux différentes recommandations issues du rapport initial sur cette charte de 2018. Quant à la directrice des organes des traitées, procédures spéciales et examens périodiques internationaux et régionaux Christine Ntunzwenimana, elle a indiqué que le Burundi connaît des avancées significatives en matière de promotion et de protection de l’enfance, en témoigne le forum des enfants, les enfants journalistes et l’existence des associations de protection de l’enfance.

Parmi les défis relevés à la production de ce rapport périodique figurent les enfants en situation de rue et le phénomène de mendicité à l’aide des enfants. C’est dans cette perspective que le ministère en charge des droits humains en collaboration avec les partenaires s’active pour éradiquer ce phénomène car la place de l’enfant est en famille, dans la communauté et à l’école mais pas dans la rue.

Source: Radio Television Burundi

Le Directeur Général en charge de l’élevage Serges Nkurunziza a animé mercredi 06 juillet 2022 une conférence à Bujumbura pour annoncer la dérogation spéciale de collecte et d’abattage des animaux sensibles à la maladie de la fièvre de la vallée du Rift accordée à la communauté musulmane au moment où dans les 13 provinces sur 18 provinces que comptent le Burundi, des signes cliniques de cette maladie ont déjà été identifiés.

Le directeur général de l’élevage a d’abord annoncé l’état des lieux de cette maladie, les réalisations et avancées dans la riposte contre cette épizootie. Serges Nkurunziza a indiqué les signes cliniques qui sont rapportés dans les 13 provinces touchées dont Karusi, Cibitoke, Kayanza, Bujumbura, Makamba, Muramvya, Mwaro, Rumonge, Bubanza et Gitega. Il a en outre mentionné que sur un total de 966 bovins et 627 petits ruminants ayant manifesté les signes cliniques de cette maladie, 413 têtes pour les bovins et 214 pour les petits ruminants en sont mortes.

Malgré la persistance de cette fièvre de la vallée du Rift sur le sol burundais, Serges Nkurunziza a annoncé que le gouvernement du Burundi à travers le ministère de l’environnement, agriculture et élevage a accordé une dérogation spéciale à la communauté musulmane seulement sous réserves des conditions de collecte et d’abattage des animaux sensibles à cette maladie de la fièvre de la vallée de Rift, lors de la célébration de la fête d’Idil Adha.

Parmi les conditions exigées figurent la collecte des animaux d’abattage du 1er juillet au 8 juillet 2022. L’abattage est fixé du 9 juillet au 12 juillet 2022. Les animaux seront rassemblés en quarantaine et doivent être identifiés par un marquage approprié pour éviter des dérapages. Serges Nkurunziza a en outre souligné que les abattages doivent se faire dans les abattoirs connus ou d’autres sites d’abattage pré identifiés en collaboration avec les bureaux provinciaux en charge de l’élevage, l’administration locale et les forces de l’ordre. De plus, les représentants de la Communauté des musulmans du Burundi en collaboration avec l’administration doivent veiller au strict respect de ces conditions.

Quid pour la population burundaise concernant la consommation de la viande rouge à l’instar des musulmans durant cette période de quatre jours ci-haut mentionnée ? Le Directeur Général de l’élevage laisse entendre que pour limiter la propagation de cette maladie à une grande allure, la population non musulmane est appelée à s’abstenir de vendre ou consommer la viande des animaux sensibles à cette maladie jusqu’à la nouvelle mesure.

Concernant le vaccin, Serges Nkurunziza tranquillise en disant que les partenaires au développement dont le FIDA, PAM , FAO et Food for the Hangry ont promis de contribuer pour une enveloppe d’environ 1.800 millions de dollars américains destinée à faire face à cette épizootie. Il espère qu’au mois d’août 2022, les premiers vaccins seront disponibles.

Signalons que cette maladie s’est déclarée pour la première fois au Burundi vers la fin du mois d’avril 2022.

Source: Radio Television Burundi