“For bitter or for worse”, the vows African mothers took before feeding us all sorts of traditional vegetables such as managu, terere, sagaa or the many cultural names you had for them. It was always an interesting ordeal at the dinner table when your parents or guardian would insist on you eating these vegetables whereas you would be more inclined to every other option on the plate.
Read MoreIn 2023, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) issued a concerning declaration regarding food security in Africa. The FAO stated that not only is Africa failing to meet the SDG #2, which aims to eradicate malnourishment by 2025, but also highlighted a significant worsening of the hunger crisis between 2019 and 2022. The FAO’s Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition: Statistics and Trends, Africa, revealed alarming figures indicating that 342 million Africans were severely malnourished in 2022.
Amidst this crisis, individuals like Desta Gebeyehu, a 2021 Mawazo Fellow from Ethiopia, are taking proactive steps to address food security in their home countries. Desta is focusing on implementing sustainable practices within the agricultural sector of Ethiopia to combat malnutrition and enhance food security.
Read MoreOn World Malaria Day, April 25th 2024, to celebrate the gains that African researchers have made in malaria treatment and prevention, we interviewed our very own 2021 Mawazo Fellow, Kenyan Medical Entomologist Dr. Trizah Milugo.
Read MoreIn 2021, when Dr. Janet Surum, an educational Psychologist from Kenya, embarked on the Mawazo Fellowship Programme, she only had a vague idea of how her research would impact future learners. She credits the Mawazo Institute for empowering her to dream big, and consider how her research can be used to generate change in her field of education.
Her doctoral research investigated the parental, scholastic, and personal factors that promote the academic resilience of students in marginalised areas in Turkana County, Kenya. It was born out of a desire to understand why some students succeed despite challenging and debilitating conditions that put them at risk for educational failure, and therefore lowering their life chances.
Read MoreDr. Peace Uwambayeis the Acting Deputy Dean of the School of Dentistry at theUniversity of Rwanda, and a 2021 Mawazo Fellow. She is a passionate advocate forimproving oral health awareness and access to care on the continent. Dr. Peacebelieves that oral healthcare affects the entire body’s health, and yet in Africa, it is oftennot prioritised, both by the individual, as well as in government healthcare policy and initiatives.
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