FRW news in brief

    | September 8, 2014

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    1-West Africa: Translating information on the Ebola outbreak

    The NGO Translators without borders is providing free translation of Ebola fact sheets.

    The translations provide preventive information on Ebola in local languages such as Fulani, Krio and Mandiké, as well as in French.

    The fact sheets tell readers how to recognize the symptoms of the Ebola virus, how to treat it, and how to prevent it from spreading to other people.

    To read the full article, go to: http://translatorswithoutborders.org/node/121

    2-Cape Verde: Archipelago turns to local vegetable production

    There has been a huge increase in island-grown food in Cape Verde over the last three years.

    Investment in new agricultural technologies such as drip irrigation has helped increase local harvests. On the tourist-friendly islands of Sal and Boa Vista, vegetable production has increased by 250 per cent since 2011, from 168 tonnes to 608 tonnes.

    Official statistics show that vegetable imports to the archipelago have actually decreased by 17 per cent over the same time period.

    To read the full article, go to: http://spore.cta.int/en/component/content/article/296-spore/agriculture-and-health-2/10096-horticulture-171-en

    3-Sub-Saharan Africa: Poverty and hunger will not end without better management of rainwater

    Delegates to a recent World Water Week conference in Sweden have called on the United Nations to address rainwater management in the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs.

    The SDGs will replace the Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs, which expire in 2015, and will be discussed at the UN General Assembly meeting in September.

    With the changing climate resulting in more irregular rainfall patterns, effective rainwater management could help millions of small-scale farmers in Africa. The senior scientific advisor to the Stockholm International Water Institute, Malin Falkenmark, says, “There is very limited fresh water [in some regions] and reduced possibility to irrigate, so you have to rely on rain.”

    To read the full article, go to: http://www.trust.org/item/20140831204123-hl6xy