Author: Tatenda Chitagu
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How seed fairs help small scale farmers revive long lost, first generation seeds
By Tatenda Chitagu BIKITA, ZIMBABWE-Since childhood, Ellen Mutsinze (55) has planted small, early generation grains to add variety to the family’s staple corn diet. She never imagined the once-looked-down-upon drought tolerant crops as a source of cash-until now. Climate change-induced droughts that have led to successive maize crop failures-compounded by increasing lifestyle diseases-drove increased demand…
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Jesuits set to evict 1 600 Chishawasha families for housing project
By Spanyoge Madziwa CHISHAWASHA-The fiery-dark Cumulonimbus clouds building up in the skies show the heavens are set to open up generously anytime soon, and this is good news for farmers in Goromonzi, a prime agricultural area located 28 kilometres south-east of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare. The farmers’ anticipation is understandable for a country that is reeling…
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How USAID emergency drought relief programs saved lives in Masvingo
By Tatenda Chitagu MASVINGO-Nothing seems amiss at Tendai Maronge’s rural homestead in Zimbabwe’s southern province of Masvingo. The neatly painted houses, a thriving orchard, lots of free range chickens, broilers, goats and turkeys all point to a normal rural life. Not before she opens up on her ordeal of being left ‘high and dry’ by…
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Bus accidents, a cause for concern
By Spanyoge Madziwa Zimbabwe has of late been plagued by fatal accidents mainly involving public transporters. A number of lives have been lost involving long distance buses and commuter omnibuses. Statistics from the Traffic Safety Council (TSC) of Zimbabwe show that close to six traffic accidents are recorded every hour. This is not something to…
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UNICEF floats emergency tender to secure Mpox vaccines for crisis-hit countries
By Hazvinei Mwanaka The United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has issued an emergency tender to secure Monkeypox (Mpox) vaccines for crisis hit countries in Africa. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Mpox is an infectious disease that can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, fever, headache, muscle ache, back pain and low…
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Digging riverbeds in Zimbabwe in desperate search for water
By BBC News One of the worst droughts in living memory is sweeping across southern Africa, leaving close to 70 million people without enough food and water. In Mudzi district in northern Zimbabwe, a community and their livestock are gathered on a bone-dry riverbed. The Vombozi normally flows throughout the year but right now, it…
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Africa needs to increase research on pandemics: experts
Hazvinei Mwanaka NAIROBI, KENYA– African countries should increase research in pandemics as they are lagging behind, prompting them to rely on outside studies, experts have said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines a pandemic as a disease outbreak that has spread across multiple countries and continents and usually impacts many people. Speaking…
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UN calls for reform of the global finance system
By Tatenda Chitagu NAIROBI, KENYA-The United Nations has called for the reform of the global financial ecosystem so that multilateral lending institutions support climate action. Speaking at the high level opening of the African Climate Summit at the Kenyatta International Conference Center today, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said the global financial system should come…