Blood donation in post-Ebola West Africa
Copyright: James Meiring. Winner HIFA Photography award 2016 What do wellington boots drying in the African sun have to do with blood donation in the post-Ebola era? Tell you later. But first, as its World Blood Donor Day on June 14th, lets consider the differences between the blood transfusion services in a high income country like the…
Buzzing activity around pollinator health
Yesterday I cherished the start of spring in England by attending an event devoted to pollinators and pollination at the University of Reading. Most presentations at this meeting organised by the Royal Entomological Society were understandably about bees, but we also heard a few talks highlighting the importance of other pollinator groups. For about five…
Workshop on âFood Security: Infectious Diseases in Farm Animalsâ- Invited Lectures, Day 2
St. Catherineâs College, Manor Road, Oxford, UK, 4-7th April 2016 Attended by M Djuric, CAB International, Wallingford, UK, on 5th April 2016 (Day 2) This workshop meeting was jointly organised by the Pirbright Institute, Woking, UK and Cairo University, Egypt and was sponsored by the British Council Research Links Programme. The aims of the workshop…
Workshop on âFood Security: Infectious Diseases in Farm Animalsâ brings together animal and veterinary scientists from Egypt and the UK
St. Catherineâs College, Manor Road, Oxford, UK, 4-7th April 2016 Attended by M Djuric, CAB International, Wallingford, UK, on 5th April 2016 (Day 2) This workshop meeting was jointly organised by the Pirbright Institute, Woking, UK and Cairo University, Egypt and was sponsored by the British Council Research Links Programme. There were 50-60 delegates in attendance…
Tackling food security with urban agriculture
Bookie Ezeomah, marketing intern at CABI, looks at urban and peri-urban agriculture and how it can help solve food security The world population is projected to increase by an additional one billion people by 2030 with Africa and Asia accounting for the greater share of this population growth. According to UN reports, more than half of the worldâs…
Climate change to cause more diet related deaths
A young man in drought conditions in Ethiopia (Author: USAID African Bureau) We are all told to improve our diet; increasing our fruit and vegetable consumption and reducing our red meat intake. But a new study, âGlobal and regional health effects of future food production under climate change; a modelling study,â published in The Lancet…
Sustainable future depends on women
Today, on International Womenâs Day, we celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, while calling action for gender parity. The United Nations campaigns for âPlanet 50-50 by 2030â referring to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that are to be achieved in the next 15 years. The goals urge us to, for example,…
Nuclear and isotopic techniques help the fight against land degradation
Land degradation is the result of a number of largely human-induced factors, such as poor soil and water management practices, deforestation, overgrazing, improper crop rotation and unsustainable land use. In turn, these can significantly affect soil fertility, resulting in diminished crop yields and food insecurity. Traditional methods of modelling and monitoring soil erosion usually require…
Promoting improved nutrition practices for women
Ahead of International Womenâs Day on 8 March, Charlotte Jordan looks at how CABI is helping to promote improved nutrition practices among women in 12 developing countries. One in three people in developing countries suffer from âhidden hungerâ or micronutrient deficiency. Itâs a major cause of illness, poor growth, reduced productivity and impaired cognitive development.…
Author of the month blog: The Animal Trade, Clive Phillips
About four years ago, I started to get concerned that the full impact of expansion and intensification of the animal production industries worldwide was not understood, by those in power, by scientists and definitely not by the public. The relatively rapid introduction of intensive farming systems over the last fifty years, and their widespread adoption…