Toward a Greater Tomorrow

The following was taken from the address of Lt. General Olusegun Obasanjo at Howard University on October 12, 1977. The Nigerian Head of State was in the United States on an official visit. Ed

Addressing Africa's youth employment and food security crisis: the role of African agriculture in job creation

Despite the abundance of agricultural resources, sub-Saharan Africa remains the world’s most food insecure region. HE Olusegun Obasanjo’s view is that there are many critical factors responsible for food insecurity in this region. They include undeveloped land tenure systems, high bank loan rates, inadequate availability of agricultural special banks, poor access to market information and prices, an unreliable market for farm produce and inadequate road network, transport and storage infrastructures for farm produce. There is also a lack of capacity for cooperative and value addition to farm produce and poor capacity for and access to agricultural insurance services. In addition, poor capacity for labor and labor costing are also part of the problem. Agriculture is one of the economic sectors that can employ millions of young people and reduce youth unemployment and enhance food security on the continent. The challenges facing adult farmers are huge but not as large as the challenges that young people encounter when trying to engage in agriculture as a profession. Nevertheless, there is hope, and opportunities abound for young people to be successful in agriculture

Love in Theology and Secularity

Love is the foundation of creation and the most important attribute which God shares with human beings, who are the most important objects of His creative activities. Theologically, we see God and know Him through His love for all creatures and particularly through His unsurpassed love for man. So we examine and explain love vertically in God-man relationships as expressed in Christianity, Islam, and the oriental religions Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism without leaving out African traditional religion and culture. We also examine and try to seek explanations for the inadequacy of love in horizontal processes and the manifestation of love in human interaction. The failure of love in secularity leads us to advocate strengthening the practice of love in religion and spirituality as a means of developing and enhancing love as fundamentally commanded by God and reinforced by Jews for Christians. This has similarities in other religions for family, community, and global cohesion, wholesomeness, security, stability, and progress. We are taking love in theology into secularity to provide overall human wellbeing in human relationships and interactions

Journal of African Christian Biography: v. 1, no. 3-4

A publication of the Dictionary of African Christian Biography with U.S. offices located at the Center for Global Christianity and Mission at Boston University. This issue focuses on: 1. David Lonkibiri Windibiziri. 2. Abiodun Babatunde Lawrence. 3. Dominic Ignatius Ekandem. 4. Recent Print and Digital Resources Related to Christianity in Africa

Food Crisis and High Prices of Food: Which Way Africa

tb

Original biographies from the Dictionary of African Christian Biography

A publication of the Dictionary of African Christian Biography with U.S. offices located at the Center for Global Christianity and Mission at Boston University. The editors are pleased to offer the first annual cumulative volume of the Journal of African Christian Biography, the monthly scholarly publication that was launched in June of 2016. Since then, the life stories of twelve individuals who played vital roles in and through their faith communities have been published online as free downloads. But it is important that a selection of DACB stories be more readily available to those without access to the internet. As I mentioned in the fall 2016 newsletter of the DACB, each issue of the journal is available in its e-journal, on-line version, where it is configured either as A4 or 8.5 x 11 format printable as booklets, ready for local printing and binding or stapling. Our intention is to make it easy for academics and church leaders in various parts of Africa to make print copies of the journal available to their students, colleagues or church members. And so it is with this cumulative volume.This issue focuses on: 1. "Walatta Petros and Hakalla Amale, Pious Women of Ethiopia," with commentary by Dr. Jonathan Bonk, Project Director. 2. Walatta Petros. 3. Hakalla Amale. 4. Bishop Josiah Kibira of Tanzania, Ecumenical Statesman. 5. Josiah Mutabuzi Isaya Kibira. 6. Josiah Kibira. 7. David Lonkibiri Windibiziri. 8. Abiodun Babatunde Lawrence. 9. Dominic Ignatius Ekandem. 10. William Wadé Harris, Prophet-Evangelist of West Africa: His Life, Message, Praxis, Heritage, and Legacy. 11. William Wadé Harris. 12. Michael Timneng and Jeremiah Chi Kangsen: Christianity Beyond the Missionary Presence in Cameroon. 13. Michael Timneng. 14. Jeremiah Chi Kangsen. 15. Rainisoalambo, Ravelonjanahary, and Volahavana Germaine (Nenilava): Revival Leaders of Madagascar. 16. Rainisoalambo. 17. Ravelonjanahary. 18. Volahavana Germaine (Nenilava). 19. Recent Print and Digital Resourcews Related to Christianity in Africa

Perceptions of dietary intake amongst Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups in high-income countries: a systematic review of qualitative literature

Background: Minority ethnic groups are a fast-growing population in many high-income countries, partly due to the increasing population of immigrants and second-generation migrants. The dietary practices of some of these minority ethnic groups might make them to be disproportionately affected by obesity and increase their risks of developing non-communicable diseases. Population-specific interventions and strategies are vital to addressing poor nutritional practices among this population. Thus, this study systematically reviewed the perceptions of dietary intake amongst Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups in high-income countries. Methods: This systematic review was conducted in line with the guidelines of the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for systematic reviews, using a meta-aggregative design. This systematic review identified and synthesised qualitative literature on the perceptions of dietary intake amongst BlackAsian and other minority ethnic groups in high-income countries. An extensive and comprehensive database search was conducted between January 2000 – May 2022 and included twenty (20) studies that met the eligibility criteria from six countries. The included studies were assessed for quality using the JBI qualitative assessment and review instrument. The JBI data extraction tools were used to retrieve relevant data from included articles, and the data were thematically analysed. Results: We identified eight major themes across this database: (1) “Social and Cultural Factors,” (2) “Availability and Accessibility,” (3) “Family and Community Influences,” (4) “Food Preferences”, (5) “Home Country Food Versus Host Country Food” (6) “Dietary Acculturation” (7) “Health and Healthy Eating” (8) “Perception of Nutritional Information.” Conclusion: Overall, Black, Asian, and other minority ethnic groups individuals were found to be aware of the effects of unhealthy eating on their health, and some of them have nutritional knowledge, but social and cultural factors, including structural factors, were deterrents to their healthy eating behaviours. An important finding from this review is that some participants believed that nutritional information, based on bio-medical science, was intended for only White population groups and that it was antagonistic to their cultural and community well-being

Mapping age- and sex-specific HIV prevalence in adults in sub-Saharan Africa, 2000-2018

BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is still among the leading causes of disease burden and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and the world is not on track to meet targets set for ending the epidemic by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Precise HIV burden information is critical for effective geographic and epidemiological targeting of prevention and treatment interventions. Age- and sex-specific HIV prevalence estimates are widely available at the national level, and region-wide local estimates were recently published for adults overall. We add further dimensionality to previous analyses by estimating HIV prevalence at local scales, stratified into sex-specific 5-year age groups for adults ages 15-59 years across SSA. METHODS: We analyzed data from 91 seroprevalence surveys and sentinel surveillance among antenatal care clinic (ANC) attendees using model-based geostatistical methods to produce estimates of HIV prevalence across 43 countries in SSA, from years 2000 to 2018, at a 5 × 5-km resolution and presented among second administrative level (typically districts or counties) units. RESULTS: We found substantial variation in HIV prevalence across localities, ages, and sexes that have been masked in earlier analyses. Within-country variation in prevalence in 2018 was a median 3.5 times greater across ages and sexes, compared to for all adults combined. We note large within-district prevalence differences between age groups: for men, 50% of districts displayed at least a 14-fold difference between age groups with the highest and lowest prevalence, and at least a 9-fold difference for women. Prevalence trends also varied over time; between 2000 and 2018, 70% of all districts saw a reduction in prevalence greater than five percentage points in at least one sex and age group. Meanwhile, over 30% of all districts saw at least a five percentage point prevalence increase in one or more sex and age group. CONCLUSIONS: As the HIV epidemic persists and evolves in SSA, geographic and demographic shifts in prevention and treatment efforts are necessary. These estimates offer epidemiologically informative detail to better guide more targeted interventions, vital for combating HIV in SSA