Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: APO

The Minister of State for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Hon. Desire Muhoozi has faulted Soroti farmers over failure to utilise the aflatoxin removal machine.

The minister said this as she was responded Bukedea County Member of Parliament, Hon. David Okwere who said that 80 per cent of cereals being purchased by PELA commodities factory in Soroti contain aflatoxin.

Okwere said that the discovery was made during a recent visit to Soroti Industrial Park which houses PELA commodities, a factory that deals in value addition of cereals like millet and sorghum, among others. 

“What we learnt is that all the cereals which this factory is purchasing have got about 80 per cent of aflatoxins and this is a red flag that all the people in Teso Sub Region are consuming aflatoxins,” he said.

Okwere called for an intervention from the Ministry of Agriculture saying that if not mitigated, residents of Teso risk contracting cancer as a result of consuming aflatoxins.

The minister however, said that government invested in the aflatoxin removal machine in Teso sub region but it has been idle since 2018. 

“Ever since government availed the equipment according to your requirement, you have not been using it and right now the Uganda Development Corporation has taken on the responsibility to privatise it,” she said.

She called on leaders to encourage locals to utilise such equipment, once they are availed.

The Minister of State for Trade, Industry and Cooperative (Industry), Hon. David Bahati said he will coordinate with the Agriculture Ministry and send a technical team to Soroti to establish the facts on the ground.

Aflatoxins are poisonous and cancer-causing chemicals made by certain molds (Aspergillus fungi). They grow on staple food crops like corn, peanuts, tree nuts and grains especially in warm and humid areas.

Eating contaminated food can cause severe liver damage and long-term health issues.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.

Source: APO

Concerns over gaps in cancer detection and emergency health services have been raised with legislators questioning why the country has limited screening facilities and unfulfilled promises of ambulances despite the growing burden of the disease.

The concerns were raised during the plenary sitting on Thursday, 27 August 2026 following a communication by Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth on Parliament’s support towards the fight against cancer and the upcoming Rotary Cancer Run.

Earlier in the day, Oboth announced that Parliament had made a deposit of Shs3 billion to support the construction and equipping of the Cancer Centre at Nsambya Hospital.

Maruzi North County MP, Hon. Benard Otim called on government to invest in mobile cancer screening services, saying access to early diagnosis remains a major challenge.

He said the Uganda Cancer Institute has only one screening van and called for funding to enable more people across the country to access cancer screening services.

The debate also turned to the shortage of ambulances, with Buzaaya County MP, Hon. Martin Muzaale demanding an explanation from the Ministry of Health over the government’s earlier promise to provide ambulances to constituencies.

The Minister of State for Health (Primary Health Care), Hon. Charles Ayume said the government had planned to decentralise ambulance services and purchase ambulances every financial year.

However, he said the programme stalled after Shs750 billion was dis-appropriated affecting the planned interventions.

Ayume revealed that, government nevertheless allocated Shs20 billion in the previous financial year for the purchase of 54 ambulances.

On cancer, the minister acknowledged the enormous pressure the disease places on Uganda’s health system saying treatment requires substantial investment in specialised equipment, trained personnel and infrastructure.
“Cancer is an intense sector in terms of the machines, training and infrastructure,” Ayume said.

He said the government increased investment in cancer care compared to 20 years ago and had begun decentralising treatment services to improve access outside Kampala.

Ayume said prevention will also be critical in reducing the country’s cancer burden pointing to the ministry’s policy of vaccinating 10-year-old girls against the Human Papillomavirus to prevent cervical cancer.
The minister also warned that lifestyle, diet and environmental exposure may contribute to cancer.

Speaker Oboth said the scale of cancer deaths in the country requires a stronger collective response from Parliament, the Ministry of Health and the public.

With about 18,000 people dying from cancer annually, Oboth said MPs have a responsibility to use their positions to increase awareness about prevention, screening and early treatment.

Wakiso District Woman Representative, Hon. Ethel Naluyima called on MPs to become advocates in the fight against cancer saying awareness and collective action are necessary to reduce the disease burden.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.

Source: APO – Report:

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Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, H.E. Dr. Musalia Mudavadi, has conveyed the Government and people of Kenya’s sincere condolences to the Government and people of Nepal following the devastating floods that have caused loss of lives and extensive destruction.

H.E. Mudavadi expressed his deepest sympathies to the families who have lost their loved ones and to all those affected by the disaster, including foreign nationals and tourists, as well as their families and Governments.

During this difficult time, H.E. Mudavadi affirmed Kenya’s solidarity with the Government and people of Nepal and all those affected by the floods.

He wished the bereaved families and affected communities strength and comfort as they come to terms with the loss, and expressed hope for the recovery and restoration of affected communities.

– on behalf of Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Republic of Kenya.

Source: APO – Report:

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This is one of the key goals of the virtual technical meeting on the review, which kicked off on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. The meeting will present participants with the progress made on essential review documents, primarily the stocktaking report and priorities for the next decade, following additional contributions received from various actors after the meeting held in Banjul, The Gambia, in June 2026.

While ECOWAP serves as the benchmark framework for agricultural development and food security in West Africa, its review must inject new momentum into it, according to Ousman Sylla, representative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Livestock of Senegal, the country currently holding the rotating chair of ECOWAS.

“Its review must provide tailored responses to the region’s persistent challenges: food insecurity, climate change, low regional trade, insufficient local processing, and financing constraints,” he declared.

For him, the future common agricultural policy must align with the ambitions of the Kampala Declaration, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) 2026–2035, and ECOWAS Vision 2050, while paying special attention to producers, women, and youth.

To achieve this, he expressed the hope that discussions among participants would lead to ambitious, realistic, and consensual guidelines to identify the necessary adjustments required to build more resilient, inclusive, and high-performing agrifood systems within the ECOWAS region.

“Special attention must be given to prioritizing key actions, governance, financing, coordination between national and regional levels, as well as monitoring, evaluation, and accountability,” indicated Ousman Sylla.

For her part, the Acting Director of Agriculture and Rural Development at the ECOWAS Commission, Ms. Fatmata Seiwoh, welcomed the participation of the representative of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) Commission at the meeting. She promised to work

toward including representatives of the Entente Council and the Mano River Union in upcoming meetings on the topic.

“Involving these various institutions, which include several ECOWAS Member States, will ensure that the ECOWAP review process remains inclusive,” stated Ms. Fatmata Seiwoh.

She invited the more than eighty participants—including national focal points, technical experts, stakeholder representatives, ECOWAS Commission members, and regional consultants—to formulate relevant recommendations for the ECOWAP review.

These recommendations will be presented at the virtual ministerial meeting scheduled for August 27, 2026, during which regional Ministers of Agriculture will review the outcomes of the ECOWAP regional review process. This includes the draft stocktaking report, the draft outlook for the next ten (10) years, and the proposed strategic priorities for adopting the revised ECOWAS Common Agricultural Policy.

The ECOWAS Common Agricultural Policy, better known as ECOWAP, was adopted in January 2005 in Accra, Ghana, by West African leaders. It serves as the regional strategic framework for agricultural development, food and nutrition security, and the agricultural sector’s contribution to sustainable economic and social development in West Africa.

As the 2015–2025 implementation cycle comes to a close, ECOWAS has launched a new review process aimed at repositioning ECOWAP toward 2035, in line with the renewed ambitions of the Kampala Declaration, the upcoming CAADP cycle (2026–2035), and the strategic directions of ECOWAS Vision 2050.

The future ECOWAS Common Agricultural Policy will be producer-centric, placing increased emphasis on women and youth—two essential categories for the future of West African agriculture.

It will also place particular focus on the digitalization of agriculture and the marketing of agricultural products, two recognized levers for modernization and value creation.

It should be noted that during the meeting, participants attended a presentation delivered by Emmanuel Ahouansinkpo, consultant at the Directorate of Agriculture and Rural Development of the ECOWAS Commission.

– on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Source: APO – Report:

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OCHA reports that efforts are underway to scale up safe and dignified burials as the Ebola outbreak spreads in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, since the virus remains highly contagious after death.

The World Health Organization warns that 60 per cent of deaths are occurring in communities, underscoring the critical need for strict burial protocols and sufficient capacity for safe and dignified burials.

Partners – the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the DRC Red Cross and FHI 360 – are expanding safe and dignified burial teams in affected provinces to prevent further transmission and protect communities.

Together, partners will expand the response with 35 additional mobile safe and dignified burial teams and 286 community-based teams across the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and Tshopo, while extending coverage to Haut-Uélé and Bas-Uélé.

The scale-up is starting now and will continue over the coming months, involving more than 2,500 volunteers and civil protection personnel, as additional capacity is deployed where needed.

The mobile safe and dignified burial teams are able to respond rapidly to alerts and conduct burials – with community-based teams providing support on disease surveillance, community engagement and psychosocial assistance, while conducting safe and dignified burials when needed.

As of Tuesday, national authorities had reported 5,713 confirmed cases and 2,744 deaths, with nearly one in two people who contract the virus dying from the disease.

– on behalf of United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).