The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has launched a new Compendium of forgotten foods in Africa which is a first-of-its-kind comprehensive collection of 100 African forgotten food crops.
Also referred to as neglected, underutilized or orphan crops, these species offer valua...ble benefits, including nutrition and diet diversification, while supporting resilient, climate-smart agriculture but they are at risk of being lost as foods such as maize, rice and wheat dominate African diets.
The compendium list includes details on each crop's botanical classification, agroecological suitability, agronomic requirements, traditional and medicinal uses, value-added prospects and nutritional content. Among the entries are: African locust beans, African nightshade, baobab, Bambara nut, bush mango, cassava, fonio, marula, moringa, teff and tigernut.
Produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)'s Regional Office for Africa with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the Compendium is a direct response to the UN Food Systems Summit and the Call for Collective Action in the Global Manifesto on Forgotten Foods.
Embracing both agricultural heritage and innovation can transform agrifood systems across Africa. By cataloguing these forgotten or underutilized crops, traditional knowledge is being honoured in the push to unlock the potential for better nutrition, sustainable agriculture, and resilience against the climate crisis.
In a joint foreword to the publication, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa Abebe Haile-Gabriel and FARA Executive Director Aggrey Agumya urged the mainstreaming of forgotten foods into African agrifood systems.
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The One Health (OH) High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP) of the Quadripartite Organizations defined OH as an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems.”
It recognizes the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plan...ts, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and interdependent [1]. The Tripartite which comprised the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) later became the Quadripartite organizations when the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) joined the OH alliance in 2022. There are Global and Regional Quadripartite Secretariats consisting of officials of headquarters and regional offices, respectively.
Over the years, the Tripartite/Quadripartite organizations and other partner agencies have developed several OH assessment and operational tools to support Member States in assessing their core capacities to achieve compliance with the requirements of international standards such as the International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR), WOAH’s Terrestrial and Aquatic Animal Health Codes, World Trade Organization’s Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (WTO-SPS), FAO/WHO Codex standards, etc. Technical areas that the existing tools currently support include progress monitoring, coordination and collaboration mechanisms, and capacity building for prevention, detection, preparedness, and response to health threats emerging at human-animal-environment interface. More OH B operational tools are in the pipeline.
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Learn what antibiotic resistance is and how to prevent it while increasing productivity among your livestock - This course is for livestock keepers and professionals working in the livestock production sector (such as veterinarians and advisors) in low-income countries and emerging economies worldwi...de. The course might also be of interest for agricultural authorities in those countries.
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As the war in Ukraine rages on, it is clear that this conflict—and its associated fallout—will not be short-lived. As a major food and commodities exporting region, the impact of the war on global food systems was immediate and significant.
No more strongly are these impacts felt than in vulner...able countries and communities who were major grain importers. Already reeling from COVID-19 and climate change, the poorest rural people now have a new obstacle to face.
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Profil Nutritionnel de pays République du Bénin 2011
In recognition of the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), its increasing threat to human, animal and plant health, and the need for a One Health approach to address this issue, the 39th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) agreed it was important for the food safety comm...unity to play its part and re-established the ad hoc Codex Intergovernmental Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance (TFAMR) ). The objectives of the Task Force were
to revise the current Codex Code of Practice to Minimise and Contain Antimicrobial Resistance and to develop new guidance on surveillance programmes relevant to foodborne AMR.
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Vue d’ensemble:
Le cycle de transmission
Téniase. Les ténias vivent dans l’intestin des êtres humains. Les œufs du ténia sont libérés avec les matières fécales. En cas de défécation à l’air libre, l'environnement (en particulier les légumes et l'eau) peut être contaminé. Cysti...cercose humaine. L'ingestion d'œufs de ténia (due à une mauvaise hygiène après l'utilisation des toilettes ou à la consommation d'eau ou d'aliments contaminés), entraîne le développement de kystes parasitaires principalement dans le cerveau (provoquant notamment des crises d’épilepsie). Cysticercose porcine. Les porcs mangeant des œufs de ténia (présents dans les matières fécales ou l'environnement) développent des kystes parasitaires principalement dans les muscles (viande). La viande infectée contient des kystes parasitaires qui ne sont pas toujours faciles à voir. La consommation de viande de porc infectée, crue ou mal cuite, entraîne le développement du ténia.
Les mesures de prévention et de contrôle
Les médicaments prescrits dans les centres de santé peuvent traiter l'infection par le ténia. Lavez vos mains avec de l'eau et du savon après avoir utilisé les toilettes. Rincez soigneusement les légumes ou faites-les cuire avant de les manger. Utilisez les toilettes ou les latrines pour éviter la contamination de l'environnement, des porcs et des autres personnes. Garder les porcs dans des enclos pour les empêcher d’être infectés. Vaccinez et traitez les porcs pour prévenir l'infection. L'inspection des viandes permet d'identifier les porcs fortement infectés. Faites bien cuire la viande de porc (elle ne doit plus être rose) pour tuer le parasite.
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Visión de conjunto:
El ciclo de transmisión
Teniasis. Las tenias viven en los intestinos de las personas infectadas. Los huevos de la tenia se liberan con las heces. Si se defeca al aire libre, se puede contaminar el ambiente (incluyendo los vegetales y el agua). Cisticercosis humana. La inges...tión de huevos de la tenia (debido a una mala higiene después de ir al baño o al consumir alimentos o agua contaminados), resulta en quistes del parásito principalmente en el cerebro (causando convulsiones y epilepsia). Cisticercosis porcina. Los cerdos que ingieren huevos de tenia (presentes en las heces o en el medio ambiente) desarrollan quistes del parásito, principalmente en los músculos (carne). La carne infectada contiene quistes del parásito, que no siempre son fáciles de ver. Comer carne de cerdo infectada cruda o poco cocinada hará que las personas desarrollen tenias.
Las medidas de prevención y control
Tratar la infección por teniasis con medicamentos indicados por el personal de salud. Lavarse las manos con agua y jabón después de ir al baño. Lavar bien las verduras o cocinarlas antes de comerlas. Utilizar los baños o letrinas para evitar infectar el ambiente, los cerdos y otras personas. Mantener a los cerdos en corrales para evitar que se infecten. Vacunar y tratar a los cerdos para prevenir la infección. La inspección de la carne puede identificar a los cerdos altamente infectados. Cocinar bien la carne de cerdo (no debe verse el color rosa) para matar el parásito.
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Globally, millions of vulnerable people are experiencing increased hunger and poverty due to droughts, floods, storms and extreme temperature fluctuations as a result of a climatic occurrence: El Niño. This phenomenon is not an individual weather event but a climate pattern which occurs every two t...o seven years and lasts 9-12 months. The 2015/2016 occurrence is one of the most severe in a half-century and the strongest El Niño since 1997/1998 which killed some 21,000 people and caused damage to infrastructure worth US$ 36 billion. The negative consequences of El Niño are foreseen to continue through 2017, particularly in Southern Africa where this event has followed multiple droughts compounding the already fragile situation.
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A manual for developing national action plans.This manual for developing national action plans to address antimicrobial resistance has been developed at the request of the World Health Assembly to assist countries in the initial phase of developing new, or refining existing national action plans in ...line with the strategic objectives of the Global Action Plan. It proposes an incremental approach that countries can adapt to the specific needs, circumstances and available resources of each individual country. Details of actions to be taken will vary according to national contexts
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The National Action Plan (NAP) has been developed based on the model recommended in the global Action Plan. Local data on on-going interventions were collected from technical informants in the various areas of work. These were analysed using the policy framework provided by the AMR policy document. ...Interventions were developed to address gaps in all five objectives of the global Action Plan. Further consultations were done to ensure that the recommended interventions were feasible, valid and relevant within the systemic contexts pertaining to the various affected sectors.
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The GAP articulates five objectives for tackling AMR, and sets out the tasks required to achieve them, highlighting
roles and responsibilities for country governments, the One Health Tripartite organizations (FAO, OIE and WHO) and other national and international partners. To ensure that all stakeh...olders assume their roles and responsibilities, and to assess whether they are collectively effecting the necessary change in AMR, the implementation of the GAP needs to be routinely monitored and evaluated. To that end, the Tripartite organizations co-developed a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework for the GAP, as outlined in this document
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Improvements in water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and wastewater management in all sectors are critical elements of preventing infections and reducing the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as identified in the Global Action Plan to combat AMR. Yet, at present, WASH and wastewater management... actors and improvement actions are under-represented in AMR multi-stakeholder platforms and national action plans (NAPs). This WHO/FAO/OIE technical brief on WASH and wastewater management to reduce the spread of AMR provides a summary of evidence and rationale for WASH and wastewater actions within AMR NAPs and sector specific policy to combat AMR. Evidence and actions are presented in the domains of; coordination and leadership, households and communities, health care facilities, animal and plant production, manufacturing of antimicrobials, and surveillance and research.
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The AMR Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Platform aims to catalyse a global movement for action against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by fostering cooperation between a diverse range of stakeholders at all levels across the One Health spectrum. It seeks to ensure a healthier, more sustainable and resi...lient present and future in which antimicrobials are preserved as critical lifesaving medicines accessible to everyone.
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The guide to implementing the One Health Joint Plan of Action (OH JPA) at national level provides practical guidance on how countries can adopt and adapt the OH JPA to strengthen and support national One Health action.
Building on the OH JPA theory of change, this guide describes three pathways a...nd five key steps to implement the OH JPA at national level:
Pathway 1 -- Governance, policy, legislation, financing and advocacy
Pathway 2 -- Organizational and institutional development, implementation and sectoral integration
Pathway 3 -- Data, evidence, information systems and knowledge exchange.
The stepwise approach comprises:
Situation analysis including stakeholder mapping and review of existing assessment results
Set-up/strengthening of a multisectoral, One Health coordination mechanism
Planning for implementation, including activity prioritization and leveraging of resources
Implementation of national One Health action plans
Review, sharing and incorporation of lessons learned.
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