Author: alphyjuma

By Polycarp Owiti March 7, 2023 When Justina (not her real name) experienced her first-period cycle, she was so terrified. Scared, she stuffed mattress cuts inside herself to try to stem the bleeding. Justina is a 15-year-old learner at Kugisingisi Primary school in Kuria west, Migori County. She was too frightened to tell her parents what was happening to her, as such conversations are kept discrete in her community. She kept quiet. Among the Kuria community, where she comes from, open discussions about sexual reproductive health which incorporate menstruation is prohibited. “At home, it is unthinkable for one to talk…

Jean Marie Kalisa, a livestock farmer from Nyabisindu Cell, Kiramuruzi sector Gatsibo, one of the seven districts in Eastern province of Rwanda recently got immunization certificates after his cattle were vaccinated against Rift Valley Fever (RVF), a viral zoonotic disease that affects mostly cattle and sheep. “In 2018 I didn’t have enough information prior to RVF outbreak and just as much I wanted to know what the main cause of death for my cattle,” the 58-year-old livestock farmer, father of six said in an interview. In a span of two weeks, Kalisa lost 16 cows out of the 47 heads of…

Though Rwamagana was among the districts in Rwanda’s eastern province affected by the Rift Valley Fever (RVF) outbreak, farmer-to-farmer awareness campaigns reduced losses and helped them cope. Through the Livestock Farmers Field School (LFFS) the local government trained the most influential livestock farmers for them to also train and mobilize others. RVF is a viral disease that mostly affects domesticated animals such as cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels. People can get RVF through contact with blood, body fluids, tissues of infected animals and bites from infected mosquitoes. Although RVF often causes severe illness in animals, most people with RVF…

BY NAMIGANDA JAEL Joyce Kabyanga is a vibrant young mother of two. I happened to bump in to her as she exited the immunization center at the Kasese Municipal health centre III, where her nine months old baby girl had just received her first dose of yellow fever vaccine for free. “People have been paying a lot of money to receive this vaccine but my child is one of the lucky few pioneers to be enrolled on this free vaccination program. I am so happy and thank the government for this initiative,” Kanyanga says. She adds that she got to…

Livestock insurance Keeping Livestock Farmers Afloat in Rwanda after Rift Valley Fever By Francine Andrew Rwandese Livestock farmers have resorted to taking insurance to cushion them against losses as a result of the death of animals due to the rift valley fever (RVF) disease attacks. Many farmers in the country, especially in Eastern Province, have suffered heavy losses of their livestock due to deadly attacks by the RVF. Rwanda, a country with extensive cattle production, reported RVF outbreak in Eastern Province in 2018. . RVF is a mosquito-borne viral disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans. It causes…

FINDING A LASTING SOLUTION TO HUNGER IN KARAMOJA THROUGH IMPROVED SEED VARIETIES By Hasifah Namuli Following a long dry spell in the Karamoja sub-region, the government of Uganda moved to take serious action thereby earmarking Ushs. 135 billion to avert the hunger crisis in the region. The intervention was announced by the Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja who noted that the funds would also cater for food relief as well as the purchase of seedlings for the planting season. Subsequently, by June 2022, the government had distributed over 200 metric tons of food supplies to Karamoja in a bid to stabilize…

09/11/ 2022 @ 1:00:55 PM Nyirangaruye Clementine In Rwanda, kitchen gardening is helping women to fight malnutrition-related diseases such as Kwashiorkor, intestinal worms, and others in children. Malnutrition is a big problem in Rwanda because of mortality cases where about 21% of children die from malnutrition diseases. The Rwanda Demographic Health Survey (RDHS) of 2014-2015 shows that 38% of children are stunted and early childbearing is one of the causes of malnutrition in Rwanda. To reduce these rates, communities have ventured into kitchen gardening through the help of CorpsAfrica. The organization through its volunteers’ trains community members on how to…