The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) has commenced training of local government facilitators and mobilisers to drive community awareness and behavioural change for girl-child education across Yobe’s 17 local government areas. AGILE’s inception and onboarding training for Component 2.1 of the project began on Monday in Damaturu, in partnership with Spotlight for Transparency and Accountability Initiative. State Project Coordinator of AGILE, Abdullahi Dahiru Bula, said the project focuses on addressing barriers preventing girls from enrolling in school and completing 12 years of formal education across communities statewide. Bula explained that AGILE has three major components designed to…
Author: Newsdesk
The Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN) has identified paucity of funds, inadequate collaboration, shortage of manpower, and inadequate facilities and vaccines as major impediments to rabies eradication in the country. The Acting Registrar of the Council, Dr Oladokun Fadipe, said this in an interview with reporters in Abuja on Sunday to mark World Rabies Day. World Rabies Day is observed annually on 28 September to raise awareness about rabies prevention and highlight progress in defeating the disease. The theme for 2026 is “Stronger Together”. Fadipe said the government must dedicate adequate resources to mobilise personnel for mass vaccination of dogs…
Blueblood Veterinary Services has recommended stronger integrated surveillance linking veterinary and human health systems to prevent and eradicate rabies and its avoidable human deaths in Nigeria. The Director of Blueblood Vet Ltd, Dr Bala Muhammed, made the recommendation in an interview with reporters in Abuja on Monday to mark World Rabies Day. World Rabies Day is observed annually on 28 September. The 2026 theme is “Stronger Together”. Muhammed said the day should be marked with a renewed commitment to preventing every avoidable rabies death, rather than merely as a day of remembrance. He advised that every dog bite should be…
The Federal Government has called for integrated management of Nigeria’s rivers, forests, wetlands and watersheds to safeguard water resources, public health and livelihoods. The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, made the call on Monday in Abuja at the commemoration of the 2026 World Rivers Day. Utsev said sustainable water resources management required coordinated action by governments, communities, traditional institutions, the private sector, development partners and civil society. He said the theme of the celebration, “No Forests, No Rivers, No Water, No Life,” underscored the interdependence between healthy ecosystems and sustainable water resources. According to him, rivers…
The Women Advocate Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) has warned that unsafe abortion remains a major contributor to maternal deaths in Nigeria, calling for urgent reforms of the country’s restrictive abortion laws. WARDC made the call in a statement signed by its Executive Chairperson, Prof. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, to commemorate the 2026 International Safe Abortion Day. The theme of the international day is “Solidarity in Action: Advance Reproductive Justice and Urgently Strengthen Health Systems for Comprehensive Abortion Care.” The organisation said Nigeria could not effectively reduce maternal mortality while unsafe abortion remained a preventable cause of death and serious injury. According…
Some women in Bwari Area Council of the FCT now sustain their families by engaging in butchery and selling pig meat. The women told reporters in Abuja on Monday that they ventured into the trade because of steady demand for pork and quick returns. The women, who operate mostly from roadside stalls, said the business offered them an opportunity to earn a living in an environment where formal employment and other income-generating opportunities were limited. Mrs Grace Namu, a mother of three, said she entered the business after struggling to find a reliable source of income. “I started with very…
The Cross River Government, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, has conducted a sero-surveillance exercise involving 600 livestock samples to strengthen disease control in the state. Mr Liyel Imoukhuede, Special Adviser to Gov Bassey Otu on Livestock Development, disclosed this in an interview with reporters in Calabar on Sunday. Imoukhuede said the exercise would provide scientific information on diseases circulating among livestock in the state and support evidence-based disease-control measures. He also said the initiative was part of efforts to support the national objective of eradicating Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) by 2030. According to him, animal…
The Cross River government says it is creating investment opportunities across the livestock value chain to attract private capital, technology, and expertise in the sector. Mr Liyel Imoukhuede, Special Adviser to Gov. Bassey Otu on Livestock Development, stated this in an interview with reporters in Calabar on Sunday. He said the government could not finance the transformation of the livestock sector alone, stressing the need for private-sector participation in production, processing, storage, logistics, and marketing. Imoukhuede identified cattle and dairy; poultry, piggery, sheep and goats; feed production; pasture development; meat processing; modern abattoirs; cold-chain infrastructure; livestock markets; animal health services;…
Farmers in Lagos State say improved access to land, finance, equipment and transportation can help double local food production. They said the state could achieve its target of increasing its contribution to food consumed locally from 25 per cent to 50 per cent. The Chairperson of Ojo Farmers Community, Mrs Mayriam Ali, stated this in an interview with reporters on Sunday in Lagos. Ali said farmers in Ojo were already producing vegetables in significant quantities despite limited resources and other challenges. “Lagos has enough. I am very sure that we have enough. “The vegetable that is coming out from Ojo…
The Federal Government says it has empowered about 50,000 smallholder farmers in Gombe and Jigawa to boost agricultural productivity and achieve food security. Mr Anyim Joseph, Gombe State Coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), made the disclosure while reviewing the ministry’s activities on Saturday in Gombe. Joseph said the ministry had provided farmer support services for the 2026 rain-fed and dry-season activities as part of President Bola Tinubu’s food security strategy. He said the programme was designed to improve farmers’ access to inputs, mobilise participation and boost crop production. The coordinator said the government had…