Sustainable energy could regenerate Africa’s Sahelian zone by using the region’s abundant clean energy potential to transform lives, diversify economies, give hope, and protect the planet. Analyzing viable pathways to move the Sahel away from energy dependency to energy agency that delivers accessible, reliable, and affordable energy for all, is …
Burkina Faso is phasing out the production of genetically modified cotton introduced by Monsanto Co., the world’s largest seed company, because growers are unhappy with the short length of its fiber. Africa’s biggest cotton grower is reducing the acreage for genetically modified cotton this season until it’s completely phased out …
Three new but independent studies have recorded breakthrough against two of the most deadly diseases in Africa- tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. Results of a new study involving over 3, 000 women in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi and Zambia show four available antimalarial treatments are safe to use in pregnancy, providing …
This paper examines the linkages between decentralisation and urban climate governance through a literature review, supported by two city case studies: Saint-Louis in Senegal and Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso. The paper explores how urban development needs, and the responsibilities, policies and processes required to meet them, are shaped, facilitated or …
Agricultural expansion has transformed and fragmented forest habitats at alarming rates across the globe, but particularly so in tropical landscapes. The resulting land-use configurations encompass varying mosaics of tree cover, human settlements and agricultural land units. Meanwhile, global demand for agricultural commodities is at unprecedented levels. The need to feed …
Over the past four decades, bicycle ownership has been documented in various countries but not globally analyzed. This paper presents an effort to fill this gap by tracking household bicycle possession. First, we gather survey data from 150 countries and extract percentage household bicycle ownership values. Performing cluster analysis, we …
Schistosomiasis is the most widespread water-based disease in sub-Saharan Africa. Transmission is governed by the spatial distribution of specific freshwater snails that act as intermediate hosts and human water contact patterns. Remote sensing data have been utilized for spatially explicit risk profiling of schistosomiasis. The investigated the potential of remote …
The report summarizes key results from surveys carried out on urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in Tamale (Ghana) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) in 2013. The aim was to provide a broad overview of the state of UPA in the study cities and a basis for future research endeavors. The randomized …
Stoichiometric approaches have been applied to understand the relationship between soil organic matter dynamics and biological nutrient transformations. However, very few studies explicitly considered the effects of agricultural management practices on soil C : N : P ratio. The aim of this study was to assess how different input types …
Global cosmetics giant L’Oréal has announced a target to reduce its carbon footprint while continuing to increase production. The company plans to become “carbon balanced” by 2020 by offsetting greenhouse gas emissions from its operations. Since 2005 the company has reduced its absolute emissions by 50% while increasing its production …
This study analyses the climate change discourses and political dynamics in south-western Burkina Faso from three empirical entry points: the production of the National Adaptation Programmes of Action; climate change discourses in the Ioba province; and the role of the public media. Climate change is not a popular discourse in …
(Reuters) - Burkina Faso’s government confirmed on Wednesday that an outbreak of H5N1 avian flu was responsible for the deaths of large numbers of chickens in two regions of the country in recent weeks. Jean Paul Rouamba, minister for livestock, said tests had been carried out by the United Nations …
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) is a policy instrument meant to mitigate climate change while also achieving poverty reduction in tropical countries. It has garnered critics for homogenising environmental and development governance and for ignoring how similar efforts have tended to exacerbate gender inequalities. Nonetheless, regarding such schemes …
It is now widely known that the natural resources and livelihoods of rural poor people are under increasing pressure. Growing demand for natural resources as well as ongoing and projected climatic changes indicate the necessity for developing and discussing adaptation strategies. This context has contributed to locating the topic of …
The QUALMAT (Quality of Maternal and Prenatal Care: Bridging the Know-do Gap) project has introduced an electronic clinical decision support system (CDSS) for pre-natal and maternal care services in rural primary health facilities in Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Tanzania.
Bird populations that make the great journey between northern Europe and Africa – including the nightingale and turtle dove – are drastically declining, conservationists have warned. Nearly half of the 29 summer migrants, who appear in the UK in spring to breed before returning in the autumn, show long-term population …
Over the last three decades, Burkina Faso's poorest farmers have produced food for half a million people by restoring some 300,000 hectares of degraded land with innovative techniques to conserve water and soil, according to a report on Wednesday. The UK-based Overseas Development Institute (ODI) thinktank said Burkina Faso's subsistence …
The objective of the study was to estimate the impact on maternal and child mortality after eliminating user fees for pregnant women and for children less than five years of age in Burkina Faso.
This paper complements the other papers in the Lancet Series on midwifery by documenting the experience of low-income and middle-income countries that deployed midwives as one of the core constituents of their strategy to improve maternal and newborn health. It examines the constellation of various diverse health-system strengthening interventions deployed …
The International Red Cross (IRC) has released a book, titled “Priceless! Uncovering the Real Costs of Water and Sanitation,” as part of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Cost (WASHCost) initiative. The book presents lessons learned from the WASHCost project and reflects on experiences in the four project countries: Burkina Faso; …
A project led by Pan African Minerals to develop the Tambao manganese project in Burkina Faso will cost up to $1 billion, the chairman of holding group Timis Corporation said on Thursday, a day after receiving the government's green light. The manganese mine in the north of Burkina Faso, near …
