www.atpsnet.org
Issue No 013

November Issue 2018

ISBN 978-9966-030-96-2

AFRICAThis is the official newsletter of the African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

Highlights:

ATPS Holds a Regional Climate Change Dialogue andTraining Workshop
Citizen Science Core in Developing Energy Efficient
Biomass Cookstoves
ATPS Receives a New Grant from BioInnovate Africa
ProgramAfrican Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)

www.atpsnet.org

ATPS Vision:
To use Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) as a means for achieving sustainable development in
Africa.
ATPS Mission:
To improve the quality of science, technology and innovation (STI) systems research, policy and practice by strengthening capacity for STI knowledge generation, dissemination, and use for sustainable
development in Africa.
Overall Objective:
To build Africa’s capabilities in science, technology and innovation for sustainable development.
ATPS Motto:
Building Africa’s capabilities in science, technology and innovation policy research, policymaking andpolicy implementation for sustainable development.

INSIDE•

Chairman’s Message•

Executive Director’s Message•

ATPS Holds a Regional Climate Change Dialogue andTraining Workshop•

ATPS and Lancaster University Host the Air Pollution in
Emerging African Megacities Workshop••

Transforming Lives of Farmers and Extension Agents

Editor:Sharon Anyango
Contributors:

Citizen Science Core in Developing Energy Efficient Bio-

Dr. Christine Wangia

mass Cookstoves

Dr. Tafadzwa MakoneseEng. Charles Muranda

Kenya Launches its First Satellite into Space•

The Hidden Fortune in Waste•

Solar Energy and Post-Harvest Loss Reduction in Roots

Chris Bradnum

and Tubers
Africa Grapples with High Number of Arthritic Patientswith Few Rheumatologists•

Editor in Chief:
Dr. Nicholas Ozor

using the LandInfo Mobile App Technology in Malawi••

EDITORIAL TEAM

Renewable Energy Access Transforms Lives in South
Africa’s Remote Rural Villages

Yvonne Kirema
Kingsley Ukoba
Njiru Prudence
Mannini Tafa
Mutai Kipkoech
Alfred Nyambane
Kum Christian Tegha•

The Status and Future of Climate Services in Africa•

Environmental Impact Assessment Process Development

Victor Ongoma

in Africa (A Reflection from Cameroon)

Design and Layout:•

ATPS Receives a grant from BioInnovate Africa•

Scholarships/Opportunities

Ruth Oriama

Sharon Anyango2www.atpsnet.org

Chairman’s Message

CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

S

trategy is always the starting point and a wellcrafted one will always help an organisation reach its
destination. This year, we continue to implement our
new Phase VIII Strategic Plan (2017-2022) which iscore of ATPS’s five-year strategy in using Science, Technology
and Innovation (STI) as a means for achieving sustainable
development in Africa. The current plan aligns to the Africa
Union’s Agenda-2063 that recognizes STI as one of the major
drivers and enablers for achieving development goals in the
AU and its member states. The AU is currently implementing
its ten year Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy
for Africa STISA-2024 which aims to accelerate Africa’stransition to an innovation led economy and knowledge
based economy. Additionally, the Plan mirrors to the global
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which calls into action
to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that everyone
enjoys peace and prosperity.

Mr. Chuma Ikenze
the project, Market Based Approaches for the Diffusion of Clean
Cooking Solutions in Kenya and Tanzania. The project aims toevaluate and develop strategies for catalyzing the diffusion
and adoption of clean cooking solutions. It is expected thatthe project will provide solutions on how to improve thediffusion of clean cooking solutions and a favourable policy
environment to enhance clean cooking solutions.

As a premier STI institution, ATPS has been on the forefront
to facilitate the development of STI polices of regional andnational governments in Africa, conducted policy researchinterventions in over 30 countries and participated in many
capacity building initiatives for sustainable development. In
the new Strategic Plan, ATPS has identified both thematic/
sectoral and programmatic areas which will enable it achieve
its mandate of building Africa’s capabilities through STI. The
thematic/sectoral priorities include: Agriculture, Food andNutrition; Environment and Climate Change; Energy and;
Health Innovations while the programmatic priorities include:
STI Policy Research, Policymaking and Advocacy; Training,Sensitization and Capacity Building; Youth and Gender
Empowerment; Knowledge Brokerage, Management andCommercialization and; Intra-Africa and Global Collaboration
and Partnerships.

ATPS is currently implementing its project on Bridging Climate
Information Gaps to Strengthen Capacities for Climate
Informed Decision-making. The project aims to strengthen
the capacities of selected African countries to understand anddeploy appropriate climate information and best practices tosupport decision-making and support development planning,
reduce vulnerability of the selected countries and foster a foodsecure Africa. During the period, ATPS and its partners held
a Regional Climate Change Dialogue and Training workshop
in Nairobi for policymakers and scientists with the aim ofmainstreaming climate change issues at regional level so as
to raise awareness about climate change. This project is under
ATPS sectoral priority on Climate Change and Environment
Management.

Under the sectoral priority Agriculture, Food and Nutrition,
ATPS will continue to identify and promote appropriatetechnologies and innovations for improving productivity andresilience, reducing waste and improving value addition along
the value chain from farm to table. ATPS is currently outscaling
its award winning app LandInfo to farmers and extension
agents across Africa. In 2016, ATPS won the prestigious
Climate Information Prize for promoting the adoption of theapp in Africa; the app produces accurate soil and climatic
information that empowers farmers, extension agents andland use planners in decision making regarding agricultural
production, land use management and climate resilience. So
far ATPS has been able to deploy the use of the app in Nigeria,
Malawi and Kenya and in the coming months ATPS will be in
Cameroon to capacity build farmers and extension agents.

In the Health sector, ATPS will integrate research programs on
innovations and policies for sustainable health delivery andhealth risk prevention including health technology and policy
studies. ATPS will also support research and development on
emerging diseases on the Continent.
Our strategy is to work with different stakeholders who
include: researchers, policymakers, private sector, civil society,media & development partners in identifying Africa’s key
challenges and solving them using science, technology andinnovation. Our main challenge is funding which is coreand programmatic and we call upon various development
partners to support us as we strive to build Africa’s capabilities
in STI for sustainable development.

In the Energy sector, ATPS will promote renewable energy
access and its development on the continent; this will bepossible by scaling up energy infrastructure to strengthenenergy security and climate resilience by providing an enabling
policy for it to happen. ATPS in partnership with Jaramogi
Oginga Odinga University, Kenya is currently implementing

Mr. Chuma Ikenze,
CEO Kenzel, LLC,
Chair, ATPS Board of Directors

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www.atpsnet.org

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

ED’s Message

A

TPS will next year mark its 25th year since its
existence. It has been a great journey with thenumber we triumphed overriding the challenges.
Overall, we have come to be known as the top
Science and Technology Think Tank in Africa according to theThink Tank Index Report which is usually released annuallyin appreciation of the impact Think Tanks have in the world.
This year according to the 2017 Global Go To Think Tank Index
Report ATPS emerged as the Best Trans-disciplinary Think Tank
network for the fourth year in a row. The rankings were doneby the University of Pennsylvania under the Think Tank andCivil Societies Programme.
We are also proud to say that we are an accredited institutional
member of the African Union Commission (AUC). ATPS
provides inputs to the specialized Technical Committee on
Education, Science and Technology of AUC and we are theorganisation that launched the first ever African Manifesto for
Science, Technology and Innovation that provided a road map
for attaining socio-economic development in Africa throughinvestments in science, technology and innovation.

Dr. Nicholas Ozor
tes increased their capacity on how to use climate informationand technology tools for adaptation planning and decisionmaking.
We also took our capacity building initiative of the LandInfo
mobile app to Lilongwe, Malawi and in the coming months
the ATPS team will be in Cameroon to train farmers andextension agents on the use of the app. The LandInfo is acommunity driven app that enables users to instantaneously
access climatic and soil information; and interpret them inthe context of local conditions. In recognition of our work inoutscaling the use of the app, we have been nominated forthis year’s Tekeleza Prize which is a category in the Climate
Information Prize. In 2016, ATPS won the Wazo Prize for its
continuous work in deploying the use of the app in decision
making to improve agricultural productivity, land-use
planning and climate resilience.

Today, we are implementing our Phase VIII Strategic Plan which
was adopted last year after wide consultation with various
stakeholders. In the next five years, ATPS will focus its work onfour sectoral/thematic priorities which include: Agriculture,
Food and Nutrition; Energy; Climate Change and Environment
Management and; Health with cross-cutting objectives in
STI Policy Research, Policymaking and Advocacy; Training,Sensitization and Capacity Building; Youth and Gender
Empowerment; Knowledge Brokerage, Management andCommercialization and; Intra-Africa and Global Collaborations
and Partnerships.
In line with the above thematic and programmatic theme,
ATPS in partnership with Lancaster University, UK hosted
the Air Pollution in Emerging African Mega-Cities: Sources,
Evolution and Impacts workshop in Nairobi, Kenya. The
workshop brought together talented Early Career researchers
from UK, Kenya and South Africa to explore the current statusof air pollution research in sub-Saharan Africa and to develop aroadmap for advancement. A detailed report of the workshop
is available on the ATPS website.

In November 5-9, ATPS in collaboration with Scinnovent
Centre, South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF),
Canada’s International Development Research Centre(IDRC) and United Kingdom’s Department for International
Development (DFID) will host the Science Granting Councils
Initiative of sub-Saharan Africa (SGCI) and Global ResearchCouncil (GRC) at Azalai Hotel Abidjan, Cote d’ Ivoire. The forum
will provide an opportunity for Science Granting Councils(SGCs) to interact with other key science, technology andinnovation system actors, including policymakers and theprivate sector with a thematic focus on, “ New Approachesof Funding Research and Innovation in Africa.” The GRC will
focus on two themes: impact and open science, and aims tofacilitate and coordinate Africa’s position on these two themesin preparation for the GRC Annual Global meeting to be heldin May 2019.

ATPS and its partners Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
Africa Centre, IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre(ICPAC), Observatoire du Sahara et du Sahel (OSS), AGRHYMETRegional Centre (ARC) and the Regional Centre for Mapping
Resource for Development (RCMRD) organized a three day
workshop in Nairobi, Kenya under the project, “Bridging
Climate Information Gaps to Strengthen Capacities for
Climate Informed Decision-making.” The workshop provided
an opportunity for stakeholders to reflect on the progress ofthe project and challenges experienced in target countries interms of climate change adaptation and mitigation throughtimely provision of climate information and services, and how
policy interventions are aiding or abating this process. Delega-

I take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to the ATPS
Board, National Chapter Coordinators and network members
who offered their strategic guidance and attended some ofthe events we hosted during this period.

4

Dr. Nicholas Ozor,
Executive Director, ATPS

www.atpsnet.org

Climate Change Dialogue

ATPS HOLDS A REGIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE DIALOGUE
AND TRAINING WORKSHOP

Delegates who attended the Regional Climate Change Dialogoue and Training Workshop which was held at Best West plus
Meridian Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya

By Sharon Anyango

A

Dr. Kaudia emphasized on the need for researchers to identify the nature of climate information gaps and device ways tobridge them. Additionally, information needs to reach people
at the right time and in good quality, if it cannot reach thepeople then research work will not have any impact.

TPS in partnership with Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Africa Centre, IGAD Climate Prediction
and Applications Centre (ICPAC), Observatoire duSahara et du Sahel (OSS), AGRHYMET Regional Centre (ARC), and the Regional Centre for Mapping Resource forDevelopment (RCMRD) under its project, Bridging Climate Information Gaps to Strengthen Capacities for Climate informed
decision-making in Africa held a Regional Climate Change Dialogue workshop from 25th-27th June 2018 at Best Westernplus Meridian Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. The Chief guests were
Hon. Sam Onuigbo, Chairman of the Committee on Climate
Change, Federal House of Representatives, Nigeria and Dr. Alice Kaudia, Environment Secretary, Kenya.

Dr. Nicholas Ozor, ATPS Executive Director noted that the dialogue was very timely because of the current effects of climatechange in Africa which has been occasioned by low capacities
in adaptation. He further added that Africa contributes 10%
greenhouse emissions, which is the lowest but unfortunately
it bears most effect of climate change.
Delegates were taken through various topics relating to climate information use so as to equip them with adequate climate information and capacity needed to promote a development pathway that is climate-resilient at institutional, nationaland regional level. The delegates noted that the production
and access to climate information is on the rise in African countries unfortunately, consumers still face a myriad of challenges
in the application of climate information due to low quality of
information products, lack of segregated information at appropriate scales and difficulties in communicating and interpreting information for planning and decision making fromnational through community level. In addition, the success ofbridging climate information gap will depend on the ability toinstitutionalize two-way communication between producers
and end users; establishing partnership and networks createsa common platform for the generation of well harmonized
and consolidated climate information for decision-making
and foresight studies will allow countries to effectively plan,

The workshop aimed at mainstreaming climate change issues
by raising awareness; conducting training and outreach to increase the use of climate resilient and adaptation best practiceat various levels; disseminate project outputs so far produced
and to strengthen the understanding and mastery of climate
information and services.
Hon. Onuigbo informed delegates that Nigeria battle with theissue of Boko Haram took so long because the country did nottake early action to tackle climate change for instance, around
Lake Chad hundreds of people depended on water but due
to drought and desertification the lake started drying rapidly
and proactive action was either not deployed properly or information may not have been available at that time. Individuals therefore ended up in cities and started making tools tocause trouble. He further noted that Nigeria had passed a billon climate change which has the potential to tackle climatechange issues in the country.

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Climate Change Dialogue

Mr. Christian Teghe, a representative from Cameroon addressing delegates on climate change information during thethree day workshop
organize and implement multiple climate-proof projects in acoordinated way for future adaptation and resilience.

The workshop was successful in bringing together different
stakeholders with different climate expertise and interest
together on the same platforms to learn, share and connect
to understand each other and to promote climate information use for decision-making and planning. Additionally, it
improved the capacity of policymakers, scientists, extension
agents, and farmers to use climate information and technology tools for adaptation planning and decision-making andlastly, it strengthened information exchange and improved
networking among stakeholders working on climate change
adaptation in selected countries.

On the issue of funding, delegates were of the opinion thatafrican countries must build their capacities (institutional, human resource, and technical capacity) in order to access thevarious components of the Adaptation fund and Green Climate Fund.
Mr. Mathew Immulia, ATPS IT consultant also introduced the
ICE platform to delegates. The ICE platform is an online interactive platform that enables users to share or disseminate
information. The platform aims to strengthen the capacitiesof African countries to understand, develop and deploy appropriate scientific knowledge on climate information access, use and management on the continent. Some of components of the ICE platform include: social media platforms,
a wiki (knowledge repository), a virtual market place and anenhanced search functionality on adaptation plans, technologies, policies and different projects.

Delegates during one of the break out sessions discuss oneof the chosen topics on climate change issues

Mr. Mathew Immulia ATPS IT consultant answering questions from delegates on the ICE platform

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www.atpsnet.org

Air Quality Workshop

ATPS AND LANCASTER UNIVERSITY HOST THE AIR POLLUTION IN EMERGING AFRICAN MEGACITIES WORKSHOP

Researchers having a discussion after visiting Mukuru kwa Njenga, a slum in Nairobi, Kenya; the team analysed the air
monitoring tools in the area which is sorrounded with industries which cause air pollution.

By Ruth Oriama &Mutai Kipkoech B. [PhD]Remote Sensing and Air Pollution Meteorologist

raised, including air quality (AQ) monitoring, modelling andpolicy issues in air quality in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

rom the global to local level, urban air quality is worsening due to the rapidly growing metropolises. Moreover, there is increasing evidence that the impactsof such urban-related air pollution are affecting thehealth of the population. Due to other vulnerability factors,
such impacts are felt much more at the local level especially in
sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, since both the temporal andspatial evolution of air quality is strongly reliant on weather,
it is sensitive to climate change. Therefore, the fight against
air pollution can only be won through concerted efforts thatbring together research from different fields.

Eventually, the workshop established a cohort of ECRs in
chemistry-climate and air pollution research in with the potential to become future research leaders, and facilitate crossboundary networking and identify common experiences on
which to build future collaborative partnerships with fellow
ECRs, established scientists, policy makers and stakeholders.

F

Concretely, the ECRs under the guidance of the workshop
mentors and facilitators will establish a platform to facilitate
knowledge sharing on issues of air quality, produce a short
informative documentary describing the workshop and highlighting the key issues of air pollution in mega-cities, produce
a promotional poster that will be used to highlight the activities of the ERCs in future events, as well as publish short reports on the aims, activities and outcomes of the workshop
in the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC)
project platform, Integrated Land Ecosystem-Atmospheric
Processes Study (iLEAPS) and ATPS publications.

Towards this end, the African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) in partnership with Lancaster University, UK
held a Trilateral Researcher Links Workshop on Air pollution in
emerging megacities: Sources, evolution and impacts a trilateralworkshop from the 16th to 20th April 2018 funded by the British Council Newton Fund, National Research Fund-Kenya andNational Research Fund South-Africa. The workshop targeted
Early Career Researchers (ECRs) from the United Kingdom (11),Kenya (14) and South Africa (9) with the objective among others, to establish the current state of science and future needsof the atmospheric research community to address the growing issue of air pollution, climate change and their impacts onsociety in and around emerging mega cities.

Additionally, the knowledge and skills gained through theworkshop shall also form an integral part of the ECRs day-today activities. Deliberate attempts will be made to disseminate the research output generated from the workshop andresearch conducted by the ECRs through other air-pollution
related conferences, workshops and other academic fora.

In order to achieve its objective, the workshop consisted ofa series of presentations from expert practitioners, in-depth
discussions and intensive group work to explore the themes7www.atpsnet.org

LandInfo App Training

TRANSFORMING LIVES OF FARMERS AND EXTENSION AGENTS
USING THE LANDINFO MOBILE APP TECHNOLOGY IN MALAWI

A cross-section of participants who took part in the LandInfo app training which was held on 11th September in Lilongwe,
MalawiBy Alfred NyambaneT

ete with other african countries and NCST will continue
supporting such initiatives in Malawi.

he African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)
conducted a Training of Trainers Workshop on theuse of LandInfo Mobile App at Lilongwe University ofAgriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) Malawi.
In attendance were: Prof. Kanyama-Phiri, Vice Chancellor
LUANAR, Mr Alick Manda- Director of Planning, National
Commision for Science and Technology, Malawi (NCST), Dr.
Kingdom Kwapata-ATPS National Chapter Coordinator, ATPS
staff, farmers, extension agents and staff from the University.

LandInfo app allows users to use smart phones to determine
land potential by assisting farmers to determine the average
weather conditions of a given point and the soil type. This
helps them narrow down on the best crops to grow in a given
soil, topography and average weather conditions. The app
operates on google and android platforms; site-specific data
include: temperature, rainfall, estimated amount of water thesoil can store for plants (aridity index) and growing season
length. Participants are expected to train others at the local
levels on the use of the LandInfo mobile app in an effort toboost agricultural production in the country.

Prof. Kanyama-Phiri expressed confidence that the LandInfo
app will produce the much desired knowledge and informationthat explicitly define land potential by identifying climaticand non-climatic conditions such as rainfall and temperature
distribution, average annual precipitation, available watercapacity, elevation, longitude and latitude, length of growing
period in days and the aridity index and the type of soil at any
given location.

ATPS has been successful in outscaling the use of the app in
Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi and in the coming months the team will
be in Cameroon to promote the use of the app among farmers
and extension agents. The trainings have been supportedby the African Development Bank under the Clim-Dev
Special Fund on the project, Bridging Climate Information toStrengthen Capacities for Climate-Informed Decision-Making
which the ATPS is currently implementing.

“The partnership between LUANAR, NCST and ATPS is ideal andstrategic and will yield the desired objectives and outcomes toempower and build capacities of agricultural extension agentsand farmers for farm decision-making and land use planning
for agricultural production and climate change resilience inMalawi,” added Prof. Phiri.
Mr. Manda on behalf of Mr. Anthony Muyepa- Director
General NCST appreciated the effort made by ATPS in Africa
and chosing Malawi as one of the countries to benefit fromthe LandInfo app training. He futher noted Malawi needs toembrace Science and Technology inorder to effectively comp-8

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Citizen Science

CITIZEN SCIENCE ROLE IN DEVELOPING ENERGY EFFICIENT
BIOMASS COOKSTOVES

Different prototypes of the wood burning stove

By Dr. Tafadzwa Makonese & Chris Bradnum
Sustainable Energy Technology and ResearchCentre, University of Johannesburg, South Africa

crucial points about the size of pots and the size of wood that
could be used on the standard driepoort cooking. However,they did recognise that open fires were an inefficient use ofwood and a safety and health hazard. After designing theprototypes, participants were asked to comment on thestoves. Partcipants also raised valuable points about thestove’s component that required improvement, these included
the need for the handle position to be changed to allow theuser to move the stove in and outdoors during the cooking
process. Majority lamented on the lack of a thick material in
the stove body area, a need for a more substantial wood inlet,
and improving the stability of the stove when large pieces
of wood are loaded into the burn chamber. Some of these
improvements would increase the costs of a commercial
stove, and some might have safety concerns however, all are
worth considering going forward.

There is a long history of products being developed
as solutions to challenges within developing
communities without the end user being involvedin the design process. Steps were taken towards
addressing this limitation in the design discourse by examining
principles used to design and develop a wood-burning stove
through direct engagement with people in the HaMakuya
District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. This project was
conducted through the Tshulu Trust, an NGO that facilitates
research projects in this rural region.
Knowledge gap exists in areas of contextually relevant
participatory design methodologies for co-design andco-creation in Southern Africa. There is an opportunity tocontribute to the methods and approaches required totrain non-designers to co-design and to co-create. Thus, thestove development project followed a user-centred design
process combined with co-design workshops as methods toinclude end users as decision makers in appropriate phases ofdevelopment of the stove. The lessons learnt from completing
this inclusive design process are useful for the improvementof similar projects in the future.

An obvious problem that was overlooked when making thestove prototypes is that households require two dishes of foodto be cooked simultaneously per meal. It was found that nearly
all of the families supplied with the stoves were using them forone component of the meal and reverting to the open fire anddriepoort for the second component, thereby invalidating thelogbooks and data related to wood usage.
During the field-testing of the stoves, ten were mistakenly
distributed to households in the nearby village of Tshikalini,
which meant that only five were available for participantsin Mutshikalini. This immediately caused problems of trust
as expectations were raised and promises had been madeconcerning participation in the project. The village Headman
then called the men of the village together to decide how tohandle the stoves. Even though the likely stove users would be
the women in the village, the men were required to determine
the distribution of the stoves. The patriarchal nature of thissociety and traditional social norms and practices are an
additional complexity that needs to be managed by researchers

In HaMakuya, households use open wood fires with adriepoort (three-legged pot rest) in closed cooking houses fordaily household cooking and heating. This cooking practice
is a direct cause of respiratory illnesses, with women andchildren being the worst affected. Thus, the project aimed to
improve the safety of the community when cooking; reduce
the amount of exposure to harmful emissions; use the energy
sources sustainably, and develop an economically viable andappropriate cooking technology.
When discussing open fire cooking, participants raised some9

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Satellite

within the study region. The positive outcome of this mistake
was that, of all the villages asked to participate, Tshikalini
had the highest level of engagement and some of the bestrecorded data. Unfortunately, Mutshikalini recorded the least
participation levels for the project. It is essential to understandthe dynamics of the villages and how these can influence thequality of the citizen science likely to be obtained.

Empowering community members to become problem finders and problem solvers was possibly the most beneficial
component of this project. Results of this research pointed to
the need for improved communication between citizens andtechnical experts, as well as for narrowing the gap between
the designer and the users by encouraging meaningful engagement and inclusion.

KENYA LAUNCHES ITS FIRST SATELLITE INTO SPACE

Photo: Pulselive.co.ke
A nano-satellite into space. Kenya launched its first satellite into space from the International Space Station in Florida, US

By Sharon AnyangoKenya made history on 11th May, 2018 by launchingits first satellite into space. The University of Nairobi (UoN), School of Engineering (kibicube Team) incollaboration with University of Rome (Italy), Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Kenya Space
Agency under the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs developed the Nano Satellite Precursor Flight (1KUNS-PF).
The satellite which is (1U CubeSat=10cm x 10cm x 10cm) was
deployed into the International Space Station in Florida by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) at Tsukuba Space
Centre in Tokyo, Japan. It consists of two commercial cameras
to capture images and experimental web broadcast which iscapable of limited earth observation and audio broadcast.
Prof. Jackson Mbuthia, Dean School of Engineering and thePrinciple Investigator noted that the satellite will be approximately 4,000 kms from earth and its weight is 1.2kgs. He further added that the estimated life span of the satellite is between 12-18 months upon which it will disintegrate and into
debris.

10

It is expected that these will help develop the capacities ofspace engineers to develop other big satellites. The Kenyan
satellite will be used for weather forecasting, earth mapping,climate change, environmental and wildlife observation andguard against deforestation.
Other African Africans who have launched its satellite into
space include: South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Morocco. In
2017, the African Union passed the African space policy which
supports outer space program and the adoption of satellite
communication for economic progress.

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BiogasTHE HIDDEN FORTUNE IN WASTE

A commercial biogas plant at the eco-resource centre in Karen, Nairobi, Kenya.

By Yvonne Kirema
Flexi Biogas InternationalD

eforestation is not only a Kenyan menace but also acontinental one. A study by a non-governmental
agency, Green Africa Foundation revealed that
Kenya loses 5.6 million trees daily despite numerous

campaigns advocating for afforestation. The study further reveals
that about 8.7 million households depend on firewood as theircooking fuel; this scenario also represents what hap-pens in other
African countries.
Mr. Dominic Wanjihia Kahumbu, founder of Biogas International ltd
has been on the forefront to address this menace. He was given thechallenge by friends of Nairobi National Park to come up with asolution for human wildlife conflict around the Park, being an
innovator and having many years of experience in the biogas sector,
Mr. Wanjihia came up with a portable biogas plant which hedesigned to meet all the inefficiencies of the conventional biogas
plants and most importantly suit the Masaai who are a nomadic
community to reduce the human wildlife interactions. Initially, thedigesters were not well received by the Masaai community but later
on, it was picked up by communities from the Central part of Kenya
who related more with the technology. From this built his company
Biogas International ltd with The aim of alleviate poverty by

The mixture flows into the compressor which is longitudinalin shape to allow the mixture to move slowly and also toincrease more time for better chemical re-action. The process
can take several days and the end result is the production of
biogas which when ready, one will notice that the digester
rises an indicator that its full of gas which then tapped outof the digester through specialized pipes to where it will be
stored and can used for domestic or commer-cial purposes.
The other output from the biogas digester is theresidual waste which is known as bio-slurry and it is collectedfrom the outlet. Bio-slurry is the food ejected from thedigester after the completion of the digestion process.
Surprisingly, it does not smell. Bio-slurry is very rich innutrients and it can be used as an organic fertilizer, pest
repellant and feedstock for animals. This product is currently
fetching a very good market price at the moment with 5
litres of the packaged bio-slurry retailing at 4.5 dollars.

providing tools to help its clients to earn income from biogas.

Flexi Digesters
Flexi digesters are 100% pre-fabricated and no
construction is needed. They consist of a digester bag thatis laid on level ground with an inlet and an outlet, thedigester is covered with a greenhouse covering to ensure
temperatures within the digester are constantly warm. The
design of flexi digesters has put into consideration aspects
that ensure efficiency, ease in maintenance and affordability.
At the inlet, the digester is first fed waste which is stirredwith water (It must not be clean water from the tap), wastefrom animals like cows, chicken and pig can be used.

Bio-slurry ejected from the outlet of the biogas plant.

11www.atpsnet.org

BiogasWhat is even more appealing about these digesters is that one
can use any bio-degradable material as feedstock and not only
cowdung which the most preferred; different feedstock havedifferent gas production capacity and surprising even enoughcow dung produces the least amount of gas. The higher thecalorific value of the feed, the higher the gas producing capacity.
Biogas can be used to generate electricity, however one willneed large volumes of biogas making it unsustainable. One
can however install solar panels placed on manual tracker for
lighting purposes and to increase its efficiency.
Permaculture

Human Waste Management

Front side of the toilet

Back side of the toilet

The human waste management plant is branded as
BioSanGas digester; it is designed to sustainably manage
human waste and produces gas. These plants solve problem
caused by pit latrines that often contaminate ground waterand cause waterborne diseases.
Commercial Biogas

If you have a kitchen garden, one can practice permaculture whichtries to mimics nature. This kind of farming reduces the cost of farm
input and maximally utilization of all the available resources in thiscase bio-slurry and compost manure. Plants that are grown using
the bio-slurry are very healthy and the slurry too can be used as apest repellent.

Hydroponic

The commercial biogas plants are branded T-Rex because of
their high biogas yielding. These digesters are also 100%
prefab assembled on ground and are designed for highenergy needs institutions like hotels and restaurants, schools,
hospitals and farms. These plants were designed after therealization that institutions like schools, factories andrestaurants are the highest fuel consumers and use tones offirewood yearly for cooking and heating. The adoption ofthese plants in such facilities completely eliminates the use of
firewood and greatly reduces the rate of deforestation.

Hydroponic (growing of crops without soil) is also practiced
at the Eco-resource centre, For instance, one can grow wheat
to feed cows. The wheat seeds are put in a sac which has
open pores, it is then dipped into water, removed and left in
the open for two days. During the two days they are dippedin water twice preferably in the morning and in the evening
and then left in the open again. Thereafter it is placed in a
tray and watered three times a day and when the vegetationis ready it can be fed to cows. The aim is to identify the most
simple, effective farming practices for farmers to increase
their livestock produce.

Since the inception of the company in 2011, Biogas
International have installed about 2,000 domestic flexi
digesters for approximately 500 plants in Zambia, Zimbabwe,
South Africa, Mali, Senegal, Nigeria and Ghana. In Asian
countries Cambodia, India and Nepal so far they havereceived about 50 digesters.

lenges faced by its clients.

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Post-Harvest Loss

SOLAR ENERGY AND POST-HARVEST LOSS REDUCTION IN
ROOTS AND TUBERS

A cross section of harvested cassavas in the farm

By Kingsley Ukoba- University of KwaZulu,Natal
Njiru Prudence-Kenya Industrial Research andDevelopment InstituteT

he world’s growing population is estimated to be at
9.8 billion by 2050, this means there will be increased
demand for food, energy and a cleaner environment.
60% more of food will be needed to sustain life onearth therefore, there is need to reduce food losses, increase
production and improve distribution in order to increase foodavailability and access to all.
Globally according to the United Nations about 1.3 billion tonsof food is lost annually. In developing countries these losses
are at post-harvest and processing stage. Approximately, 120170 kgs/year of food is lost in Sub-Saharan Africa and South/
Southeast Asia. In Uganda, approximately 27% of all milk produced is lost which is equivalent to US$23 million/year. South
Africa food loss is estimated to be about 10 million tons every
year which represents 210 kg per person per year representing 33 % of the 31 million tons of food produced annually. The
losses consist of 44% fruit and vegetables, 26% grains, 15%meat, and 13% roots, tubers and oilseeds. The bulk of this loss
occurs at the initial stage of the food supply chain, post-harvest losses contribute to 50%, processing and packaging 25%,
distribution and retail 20% and 5% at the consumer level.
Root and tuber crops are staple foods to approximately 200
million people in Africa, their annual production exceeds 550
million tonnes which is about two-thirds that is harvested.
These crops are grown by peasant farmers because they require less labour for cultivation.

Post-harvest Losses
Cereals, roots, tubers and plantains constitute over two-thirdsof staple foods in the average sub-Saharan African diet interms of energy. Root and tuber crops are currently the second
most important food crop category in several parts of Africa
especially West Africa and Kenya after cereals however, thecurrent poor weather conditions that are attributed to global
warming have led to a reduction in cereals production. Approximately, 70% of Africans are dependent on rain-fed agriculture an activity that is characterized by small-scale, subsistence farms that are vulnerable to a variety of stresses including
those associated with climate change. Root and tuber crops
are high yielding crops that can grow in diverse environments
including the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), thus providing
a great potential for ensuring food security for the majorityof Africans. In spite of the potential for these crops to address
food security, a significant proportion of rural communities inAfricans are constantly faced with food deficits.
The main root and tuber crops produced in Africa are Irish
potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava, yams and cocoyams. In
2015, the land under cultivation with Irish potatoes in Kenya
was 147,780 ha which resulted in a production of 2.9 million
tonnes valued at 582 million USD. Similarly, the productionof sweet potatoes was 967,879 tonnes from an area of 73,890
ha valued at 310 million USD and in 2009, Kenya produced
820,000 tonnes of cassava on 70,000 ha.
Root and tuber crops are plants that store edible material insubterranean root, corm or tuber and provide energy in thehuman diet in the form of carbohydrates.

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Post-Harvest Losscontains cyanogenic glycosides which are converted to toxic
hydrocyanic acid when the cells are ruptured. However, thecyanide content of the roots can be reduced to non-toxic levels if they are correctly processed. Hydrocyanic acid is a volatile compound that evaporates readily at temperatures above
28°C and dissolves readily in water. This means that simple
procedures such as shredding, pressing, washing, fermentation and drying can reduce the cyanide content to non-toxic
levels.
The machine fabricators also need to be challenged to produce more advanced machines such as flash dryers, extruders,peeling machines, graters, chippers and hydraulic presses
which are expensive to import. According to a recent study
by Foreign Policy Research Institute, improvements in theprocessing sector such as a shift to mechanical peeling could
help lower losses in cassava value chain by about 44 percent.

Post-harvest loss in a sweet potato

The important harvested part from cassava and sweet potatoes Strategy for Post-Harvest Loss Reduction
are the roots while from potatoes, arrow roots and yams are thetubers. Roots, tubers and plantains are rich in highly digestible
starch and provide more dietary energy per hectare than cereals however, they are low in protein and other nutrients.
Causes of Post-harvest Losses
The high moisture content of these crops means that they arebulky, highly perishable and costly to transport. Poor harvesting practices and post-harvest handling of roots and tubercrops
are the major causes of crop losses. The major practice is poor
handling of harvesting tool which often cuts the root-tuber
leading to fungal contamination and deterioration especiallywhen the harvest is not consumed or sold immediately. Moreover, farmers do not have access to equipment that could help
them process more efficiently.
Root and tuber crops are a source of income for many poor
households. Sweet potatoes and cassava particularly can grow A section of some farmers harvesting sweet potatoes from theunder harsh climatic conditions and provide cash incomes to farmhouseholds that would not have had anything else to sell, hence
the direct physical loss of the crop, post-harvest deterioration The major strategy for reducing post-harvest loss in Africa iscauses a reduction in quality that results in price discounts and the behavioural approach. This involves introducing farmers
to the concept of post-harvest loss and prevention techniques.
so contributes to economic losses.
The greatest constraint to the processing of powders from thebulky roots and tubers is drying which may take up to 4 days
Processing of Roots and Tubers
Root and tuber crops are generally consumed in their fresh form to complete in sun drying. Long drying durations in the sun
in households, institutions and food service establishments. often leads to heavy microbial contamination. Conventional
Their production and consumption are affected by the avail- electric tray drying is fast but is inefficient and expensive beability of other food crops as well as perception, for instance cause of the large amounts of water to be removed coupled
the utilization of cassava and sweet potatoes is affected by the with the high cost of energy. This can be ameliorated with afnegative perception by some communities who consider them fordable, stable and sustainable power supply. Renewable en“a poor man’s crops’’. The perception of cassava as a ‘poor man’s ergy is a viable solution to ending the global electricity probcrop’ and the fear of cyanide poisoning has greatly affected its lem as it exceeds world electricity demand. Renewable energy
status as a staple food crop on the continent. Cases of death includes solar, wind, geothermal, oceanic, hydro, biomass anddue to consumption of raw or inappropriately processed roots other energy sources. Solar energy can be converted to use
direct current electricity using solar cells.
are frequently reported, It is unarguable that cassava

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Post-Harvest Loss using Solar Energy

Post-Harvest Lossproduct and promotes the natural circulation of drying air.
(3) Indirect solar dryers: In these dryers, air is first heated in asolar air heater and then ducted to the drying chamber.
(4) Mixed-type solar dryers: The combined action of thesolar radiation incident directly on the root and tubers andthe air pre-heated in the solar air heater furnishes the energy
required for the drying process.
Storage

Farmers using a solar energy drier

The roots and tubers loss can be minimized by providing theright environment for storage and preservation.
Preservation:
The preservation using drying basically involve moisture content reduction in the roots and tubers. It enhances the shelf
life and eases transportation of the product and it also reduces
the space needed for storage of the crops. Root and tubers canbe dried using Open sun drying or/and solar dryers. This open
drying can either be direct sun or shade drying. Open sun drying is common practice among subsistence farmers in Africa
for preserving agricultural products. Although, this method
encourages losses in quantity and quality of the dried crops.
It also leads to contamination of the product due to exposure
to dirt, infestation from animals. Electricity powered dryer is amajor solution in post-harvest loss reduction. It helps preserve
the crop by drying and improve the quality of the dried product however, the unstable and expensive nature of electricity
in developing countries has continued to hamper usage ofsuch dryer, especially by subsistence farmers. With the alternate materials being researched for solar energy, it is possiblefor developing countries to be able to benefit from cheap andstable electricity generated from solar energy.
Classification of Solar Dryer(1) Sun or natural dryers: The root and tubers are placed
directly under hostile climate conditions like solar radiation,
ambient air temperature, relative humidity and wind speed toachieve drying. This tends to contaminate the dried product.

A solar-powered warehouse

Products that are required in the fresh state, drying is not an
option. Solar powered storehouses or silo are therefore designed to help preserve them in their harvested state. Thisrequires a lot of electricity to keep the crop fresh for the duration required. A breakthrough in low-cost solar cells and panels will afford the peasant farmers access to such facilities at a
reduced cost.
Solar technology can help reduce the post-harvest loss experienced on the continent especially in staple crops like roots
and tubers. A little more investment and research/development are needed in the development of solar technology
starting from solar cells and panels production. A reduction in
the post-harvest loss will produce more food to feed the hungry, improve the standard of living, more foreign direct
invest-ment and a host of others benefit.

(2) Direct solar dryers: In these dryers, the root and tubers
are placed in an enclosure, with transparent covers or sidepanels. Heat is generated by absorption of solar radiation on
the product itself as well as the internal surfaces of the drying
chamber. This heat evaporates the moisture from the drying

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Arthritis

AFRICA GRAPPLES WITH HIGH NUMBER OF ARTHRITISPATIENTS AND FEW RHEUMATOLOGISTS

A diagramatic illustration of parts of the human body that are most likely to be affected by arthritis

By Sharon AnyangoT

he prospects of treating patients with arthritis in
African countries is hindered by the number of few
rheumatologists available and individuals preferring
to take painkillers instead of seeking medical advice.
Surprisingly, Ethiopia has no adult rheumatologist and Africa’s
most populous country Nigeria has only 30 rheumatologists
who serve about 170 million people.
Rheumatoid Arthritis is autoimmune; it involves the breakdown of cartilage which protects end surfaces of bones at thejoints leading to the loss of smooth glide at the joint during
movement. It is a silent disease which when not treated maylead to disability. The disease occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks its own body’s tissues.
Little is known about rheumatoid arthritis because very few
studies have been conducted about the disease; because oflack of information on the disease, patients begin treatment
late while others are unaware of the symptoms and treatments currently available. At the moment, there is no cure forrheumatoid arthritis, patients are advised to take precautionary measures, those who are diagnosed with the disease areusually given anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce the pain andstiffness. If the disease continues then the patient is put underanti-rheumatic drug therapy.

rheumatoid arthritis. According to his father Mr. James Gathuo
Gathenya doctors informed him that his son developed behcet’s syndrome which has made him to be resistant to conventional medication. The doctors have therefore prescribed tohim a TNF-inhibitor/ bio-logic medicine which costs approximately $4,900 for a six months medication period. The family
has been forced to request for support from well-wishers toenable them meet their son’s cost of treatment.
Dr. Christine Wangia, a lecturer at Jomo Kenyatta University ofAgriculture, School of Pharmacy-Department of Pharmacology has been on the forefront in finding a medication on rheumatoid arthritis. Recently, she was awarded by the Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI) during the World Intellectual
Property Day for using scientific methods to patent her work
which has a special code GMC10. Dr. Wangia has discovereda plant which has some properties that can be used to treat
rheumatoid arthritis. I caught up with her and here is how theinterview went down.

Elvis Gathenya, grade seven pupil has been suffering from16

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Arthritis

Dr. Wangia was shortlisted among the three out of twenty women who had filed for patents of their work and honoured by
the Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI) for using scientific methods to protect her invention which is the discovery ofa plant that can better manage rheumatoid arthritis compared to the conventional medicines, which are costly, with a lotof adverse effects ranging from gastrointestinal irritation and bleeding, bone marrow suppression, chronic kidney failure
among others.

Dr. Christine Wangia showcases some of the certificates she has received in honour of her work.
1. How would you best describe yourself?
I am a pharmacist by profession and currently a senior Lecturer in the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacognosy,
School of Pharmacy-Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture
and Technology. I am also a Director at the Chebu Pharmaceutical Ltd, a Retail community pharmacy. I like to empower
people by mentoring them to bring out their talents. I also
have passion for helping the needy people in my society. I believe that I should share what God has given me with the lessfortunate people in my community. Lastly, I am a God-fearing
woman, married and blessed with five children.
2. You have been doing a lot of scientific research on rheumatoid arthritis. How would you best define the disease
and why focus on arthritis and not any other disease for
instance Cancer, Malaria and HIV/AIDS which have killed
millions of people in Africa?
Arthritis is the inflammation of the joints. There are many typesof arthritis, such as: osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis(RA), and gouty arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, where the body fights against its own tissues,
including joints, especially the small joints of the hands, wrists,
and toes. The body is unable to defend itself and if not treated,the disease may lead to disability. I decided to focus on thisdisease because there is less attention by various stakeholders on funding, research, and health promotion. For instance,
today, HIV patients are being offered free ARV’s and stigmatization has reduced drastically. The burden of cancer has also
reduced as the National Hospital Insurance Fund has enabled
patients to access treatment in public hospitals. There is somuch coverage on both preventive and treatment measures
for malaria such as great concern regarding pregnant womenand children under 5 years old. In regards to arthritis conditions, there is neither proper health promotion nor funding set
aside for these conditions because they regarded as diseasesof the elderly which do not need much attention. In addition,
there are only10 rheumatologists in Kenya according to Prof.
George Oyoo, a rheumatologist at Kenyatta National Hospital,
which is very low considering Kenya has a population of over
40 million people.
3. What are the major causes of Rheumatoid arthritis andhow can it be prevented?
RA is a progressive disease, if its diagnosed early it is easier tomanage. Unfortunately, patients who experience pain in one
or two joints opt to self-medicate themselves, with analgesics
and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. These medicines
are symptomatic, can be purchased over- the- counter inpharmacies and tend to reduce the pain and swelling, hence
making patients fail to seek proper medical diagnosis. With
proper health promotion, people should be educated to avoid
self-medication with pain- killers when the joints show signsof pain, swelling and redness, and instead seek proper medical
intervention.
4. Briefly tell us about the new Kenyan herbal medicine
which you have invented and how did you come to develop interest in medicinal plants?
In India there is a lot of ongoing research on medicinal plants
to produce various dosage forms from herbal medicines. In

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Interview

Dr. Christine Wangia during the interview at the ATPS office.

1983, I received a commonwealth scholarship from the government of Kenya to pursue a Masters degree in Drug Assay at
the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.
I worked on an Indian species like the Kenyan species. In mystudy, I discovered that the plant species was safe and possessed anti-arthritic activity using laboratory animals such as
mice, rats, cats and dogs. It was from these studies that my interest in medicinal plants grew. Together with my supervisor,
we did a lot of research on the plant species and the results
proved that the plant had certain properties than can be used
to manage rheumatoid arthritis. When I got an opportunity towork in an academic institution, I revisited the research on the
Kenyan species.
5. During your period of study, your specimen was the Indian species of the plant, how were you able to trace the
Kenyan species of the same plant and did the Kenyan species have the same characteristics as the Indian species?
I visited the Kenya National Museum to find out if the species
could be found in Kenya, and if so, what could be its distribution. After finding out the plant’s distribution pattern, together with a botanist, I was able to trace and collect it in December 2010. The Kenyan plant species belonged to the samefamily as the Indian species. I was excited to find out that the
Kenyan plant did not have any reported activity in various
publications regarding its medicinal uses, nor was it known by
the Kenyan traditional practitioners to be of medicinal value.
The plant grows wildly along foot paths. The next step was
to begin thorough research on this species. It is at this juncture that we started application of patent with KIPI in January
2011, and also registered a pharmaceutical company by thename, Chebu Pharmaceutical Ltd in June 2011. This company
has paid for all the patent fees and annual fees to date. We
finally got a patent in August 2016.

6. I know at the moment you cannot disclose the exact
name of the plant. Out of curiosity, is the plant widelygrown in Kenya and will it be sufficient enough to produce
enough drugs?
The code of the drug is GMC10. Once the remaining studies
are completed and pilot clinical trials are completed, an application of a trade mark of the developed medicine will be madewith KIPI. After approval of the trademark, an application will
be made with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Kenya forregistration. Although the plant is perennial, and it can begrown twice a year, my intention is to isolate and identify thepure active compounds, hence mass production of the plant
will not be required. My aim is to purchase C-18 reverse phasesilica gel for column chromatography, which will enable me
isolate and get pure compounds. Normally, the compounds
come out from the column in different colours as bands andcan be run in an HPLC-MS equipment to get the molecularweight. These compounds will be analyzed using an NMR
equipment to elucidate the exact structure of the compounds.
The compounds will be subjected to bioassay-guided fraction
to determine the active compound (s) which could be manufactures commercially.
7. How has your research journey been and for how long?
In January 2009, I joined Mount Kenya University as the Bachelor of Pharmacy coordinator and lecturer. As an academician,research is part of teaching. I remembered the plant species,and determined I must finalize the research work I started inIndia. The first thing I did before investing in research was tobegin the process of patenting, through Chebu Pharmaceutical Ltd. In April 2014, Chebu Pharmaceutical met expenses
for me to attend a Drug Discovery and Design course at the
University of Washington in Seattle USA. The patent certificate
was granted in August 2016. It has been close to nine years asof this writing and I am optimistic that the final output will begreat. I am also grateful for the support I have received fromvarious institutions namely, The Jomo Kenyatta University of
Science and Technology (JKUAT), Chebu Pharmaceutical andJapan International Cooperation Agency, Kenya.
8. What are some of the lessons you have picked along theway?
The Importance of IP protection. When one has a vision, one
should be committed to it. In addition, grand ambitious require long-term commitment. Value the support from yourcircle, I got a support team from my company, family, andfriends. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and technology gave me some financial support.
9. What is your message to upcoming scientists/researchers?
Scientists should be clear about their problem statement.
What is it that they would like to solve? What are the practicalsolutions? And lastly, they must protect their IP.

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Interview

10. What would you say are some of the strides Kenya hasdone in helping patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and what more needs to be done even on the Continent?
Kenya has not made enough efforts in addressing the problem of non-communicable diseases such as RA both researchwise and financially. There is need to promote health education regarding arthritis conditions through media, seminars
so that people are informed. There is also need to train morerheumatologists to serve the 47 counties, as currently there
are only 10 who serve the nation. This number is just “a dropin the ocean”.
11. When will the clinical trials begin and what are yourmajor expectations?
Clinical trials are scheduled for less than one year as of thiswriting. Currently, we are on the pre-formulation stage to establish a stable dosage form. The findings will determine theshelf-life of the plant and oral dosage form. Depending on
the pre-formulation study results, an oral dosage form will be
formulated, whose stability and shelf-life will be determined.
Later, we will focus on bioassay-guided isolation, characterization, and structure elucidation to determine the active compounds. The results will be compared to the plant extract. The
most active compound(s) will be commercially produced ona large scale. The trade mark active medication will be registered with KIPI and later registered with the Pharmacy andPoisons Board of Kenya.
12. What is the process of filing for patent in Kenya?
It took approximately seven years for the patent to be finalized.
The procedure is a bit complex and, in my situation, I sought
the guidance of a lawyer as there was a lot of paperwork to do.
13. Are there any challenges you faced while patenting theherbal medicine that can cure arthritis?
Conducting experiments is costly, and this made me takelonger than I would have if I had adequate funding. Also, while
I was in the process of patenting my work, someone from thePhilippines claimed that I had allegedly claimed his work. It
therefore took another six months to prove the individual
wrong. The species of the plants were different, although they
belonged to the same family.
14. You are also a Director of Chebu Pharmaceutical Ltd(Chebu). What does the organization do and what is theniche it covers in the healthcare industry?
Chebu is developing a Pharmacy Benefit Management Systemthat increases access to medication at a reduced cost througha cost- effective solution that utilizes mobile phone technology to empower ailing patients in Kenya to purchase legitimate
medication before they leave the physician’s/clinic. Chebu’s
core business is in the retail pharmacy market segment. Once
this app is fully developed, it will make distribution of the newarthritis medication streamlined.

15. How is Chebu Pharmaceutical Ltd structured?
Chebu is a pharmaceutical company with a strong edge intechnology industry. The leadership team has diverse industry
experience ranging from healthcare, software development,
engineering, and finance.
16. Congratulations by being feted by the Kenya Industrial
Property Institute (KIPI) for scientifically protecting vital
information in regard to your patent on the herbal medicine. So, what should we expect from Dr. Wangia in thenext five years?
More attention will be put in promoting health education regarding arthritic conditions in all the 47 counties. I am hoping my research on arthritis will be able to attract my students
from JKUAT university to advance in arthritis research activities.
17. Have you published some of your research work? If yes
which ones are they?
Some of my published works include:
1. Wangia, C.O., Orwa, J.A., Muregi, F.W., Kareru, P.G., Cheruiyot,
K., Guantai, E (2018): Quantitative and Fourier Transform Infrared Analysis of Saponins from Three Kenyan Ruellia Species:
Ruellia prostrata, Ruellia lineari-bracteolata and Ruellia bignoniiflora available at https://waset.org/publications/10009093/
quantitative-and-fourier-transform-infrared-analysis-of-saponins-from-three-kenyan-ruellia-species-ruellia-prostrataruellia-lineari-bracteolata-and-ruellia-bignoniiflora2. Wangia, C.O., Orwa, J.A., Muregi, F.W., Kareru, P.G., Cheruiyot,
K., Kibet, J (2017): Anti-Oxidant Activity of Aqueous and Organic Extracts from Kenyan Ruellia Prostrata. http://ijpsr.com/
bft-article/anti-oxidant-activity-of-aqueous-and-organic-extracts-from-kenyan-ruellia-prostrata/?view=fulltext(10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.8(3).1282-86)
3. Wangia, C.O., Orwa, J.A., Muregi, F.W., Kareru, P.G., Cheruiyot,
K., Kibet, J (2016): Comparative Anti-Oxidant Activity of Aqueous and Organic Extracts from Kenyan Ruellia lineari-bracteolata and Ruellia bignoniiflora. European Journal of Medicinal
Plants 17(1): Article no. EJMP.29853 (http://sciencedomain.
org/review-history/16834)
18. Your favourite quote
With God, all this are possible- Matt 19 verse 26

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Renewable Energy

RENEWABLE ENERGY ACCESS IN LIMPOPO, SOUTH
AFRICAthe electricity company to provide grid electricity in the area.
In addition, it will not be profitable for the utility company tosupply electricity, as the people will not afford to pay for theservice. Government grants are too little to meet this basicneed.
Naturally, agriculture would be the best way to sustain families however, the village has no water available even for theirbasic needs like drinking; people walk for long distances to
get water and schools located in Matatani village about 5 - 10
kilometres away from Gwakwani. The older children that attend primary to high school have to walk to school in the earlyhours of the morning and return at night. The younger kidsthat are not yet in school or old enough to walk long distances
stay at home. There was no form of pre-education school in
Gwakwani before the intervention by the University of Johannesburg. The projected has provided a solar-powered crèche
equipped with a modern TV set connected to a digital satellite
decoder (Dstv).

Renewable Energy

By Eng. Charles Muranda & Mannini Mafa School ofElectrical & Electronic Engineering, Uni-versity of
Johannesburg

A

significant number of households in rural South
Africa lack access to clean energy sources. Most ofthem continue to rely on traditional fuels such as
firewood, crop residues and animal waste to meettheir basic energy needs. The continued use of traditional fuels
in inefficient and poorly designed cook stoves leads to household air pollution and increased morbidity and mortality rates.
In light of this, the government of South Africa through the
Department of Energy and the Department of Environmental
Affairs has advocated for households to shift from the use of
traditional fuels to cleaner energy sources such as LPG andelectricity.
The University of Johannesburg, through the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Sciences under the guidance ofProf Johan Meyer, embarked on a project to empower remotevillages in South Africa through enabling energy access from asuite of locally available renewable energy sources. Gwakwani
village, in the Vhembe District of Limpopo, was selected tobenefit from this scheme. Limpopo Province is considered an
impoverished area and has the highest percentage of people
living under the poverty line.
Gwakwani popularly known as the “Forgotten village” is so remote that help seldom reaches them. The village is home toapproximately 70 to 100 inhabitants and has minimal socioeconomic development hence the villagers heavily depend on
government/ social grants; because of its remoteness villagers
do not have access to electricity as it proved too expensive for

In 2015, the University of Johannesburg and various stakeholders including Schneider Electric, and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) installed a solar-powered water pumping system, bakery, and creche. The initiative was ahuge relief to the community as it solved the water crisis in
the area and provided them with communal water taps. They
no longer had to walk long distances to fetch water, before
the University went into Gwakwani, the households in village
depended on water supply from the nearby river. They did nothave access to a running water supply. The river is infested
with crocodiles and there have been reports of crocodile attacks on livestock during water drinking episodes. As such,
wealth has been lost resulting in those affected households
sinking deeper into poverty and being entangled further inpoverty traps.
Gwakwani had a high prevalence of malaria infections, villagers reported of being excessively bitten by mosquitoes as theywalked back and forth the river to fetch water for domestic
and agricultural needs. Since the establishment of the solar
borehole scheme, villagers have reported reduced incidencesof malaria, and livestock loss in the village.
A few months later, the University and the stakeholders installed solar-powered lanterns to each household to ensurethat each households had adequate lighting during the night.
School going children in the village acknowledged that thesolar lanterns were important to help them study at night.

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Climate Services

THE STATUS AND FUTURE OF CLIMATE SERVICES IN
AFRICAThe situation is further worsened by institutional policies inmost government institutions that limit data sharing, a common phenomena in most meteorological institutions acrossthe continent.

Photo:Courtesy
The Kenya Meteorological Department

By Victor Ongoma pHD Climate Change Expert,
South Eastern University, Kenya

Climate affects almost all our socio-economic activities on a daily basis. The degree of the effect determines the level of vulnerability of various sectors
to effects of the ongoing climate variability and climate change. In general, although climate change is a global
phenomenon as a result of global warming, its impact varies
greatly for instance, Africa is vulnerable to effects of climatechange owing to it’s over dependence on rain-fed agriculture
and other climate sensitive sectors; this makes rainfall themost important climate parameter on the continent.
The continent is currently witnessing an increase in extreme
climate events, mainly floods and droughts; although moststudies show that rainfall is likely to respond to climate change
differently in terms of amount in space, there is general consensus that extreme climate events are likely to increase
throughout the 21st century. This problem is exacerbated by
the continent’s ever growing population that requires an increase in food production which will significantly alter Africa’s
land use and land cover. The magnitude of the problem calls
for proper planning to build resilience to the ongoing andexpected climate change impacts however, for practical andeffective decisions to be made, there is need for accurate, reliable and timely climate information which will influence decision making.
Do policy makers/opinion leaders have the information? It is
unfortunate that most developing countries that are in direneed of climate information do not invest in it. This is exemplified by relatively low density of meteorological observation
network, dilapidated meteorological stations, and shortageof skilled staff. All this ruin the quality of meteorological data,
eventually affecting the value of information derived from it.

Despite the various climatological and management challenges, there is ever growing confidence in use of climate
model data and satellite products which comes with its own
challenges that need to be addressed, for instance, research
has shown that Global Circulation Models poorly reproduce
climate especially rainfall over East Africa, thus adding uncertainty in the projected climate. The rainfall projections overEast Africa have been termed as ‘a paradox of East Africa climate’; models project wetness and yet drying conditions areobserved. On the other hand, satellite data is ever increasing
both in quality and quantity, but requires good observed datafor continuous validation and application on daily operations.
The agricultural sector relies heavily on climate information, studies show that the ever increasing temperature andchange and/or unpredictable rainfall patterns will adversely
affect agriculture. The sector requires tailored climate services such as the timing of the onset and cessation of rainfall,
rainfall amount, and possible dry and wet spells; forecastingof these aspects of rainfall is dependent on the quality of historical data. The quality of observed climate data cannot be
underestimated, although the initial cost of investment in climate sector is generally high, the benefits outweigh the costby far. Advancement in space technology and adoption of automatic weather stations will immensely boost the operationsof the sector; satellites products such as surface temperature,soil moisture, and vegetation greenness are key in daily operations in agricultural sector. This information is used in estimating crop yield for planning purposes in the context of foodsecurity. Various stakeholders need concerted effort to uplift
the climate sector by:•
Support data rescue initiatives to facilitate the digitizationof archived data that is currently in hard copy form.
•
Acquisition of modern weather instruments/technologies
to boost data collection, analysis, and dissemination of climate information.
•
Promotion of open policy to climate data and information
to enhance research and decision-making.
•
Collaborative multi-disciplinary research to further application of climate information in the various socio-economic sectors.
•
Capacity building- train experts in various specialties in
the climate sector.
•
Funding of projects on climate service demonstration andclimate change adaptation beyond pilot stage.

21

www.atpsnet.org

ATPS National Chapter Column

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT PROCESS DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA (A REFLECTION FROM CAMEROON)

Source: QHSE SMART
Environmental Impact Assessment

By Kum Christian Tegha
ATPS-Cameroon Research CoordinatorS

ince 1960s, there has been growing interest on environmental and detrimental impacts that society hason the global environment which has led to gradualintroduction of environmental legislation in an attempt to regulate impacts on the environment. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has become a widely used toolfor identifying the potential impacts of new development
projects on the environment. EIA is an investigation carriedout to determine the impacts of the environment on major
developmental projects.
EIA was first developed in the USA and came into operation as
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. EIA wasthen introduced in California in 1970 and was later adopted
by other Federal States. European countries followed the U. S
example of enacting legislation that requires EIAs for all major
projects and other countries followed.
In Africa, mainly donor and multilateral agencies conducted
EIA until its legislation adoption from the mid-80s. Presently,
most African countries have evolved substantially over the
past decade due to the introduction of legal requirements
and/or general procedures for EIA.
EIA was first legislated in Cameroon under article 17, 18, 19 and
20 of the 1996 law relating to environmental management.
It remained non-mandatory until 2005 when the decree No.
2005/0577/PM of 23 February 2005 fixing modalities to carryout EIA was signed. This was followed by Order no.070/ MINEP
of 22 April 2005 fixing different categories of operations to be
subjected to EIA; Order no. 04/MINEP of 3 July 2007 fixing conditions for approval of Consultancy Firms to carry out EIA

and environmental audit (EA); and Order no.02/MINEP of February 2007 indicating the specific elements for terms of reference.
Since the emergence of EIA, there has been a growing interestin examining its effectiveness as an environmental tool dueto the high cost involved and the diversity of environmental
problems and consequences on human health and ecosystems. However, almost two decades of mandatory EIA practicein Africa has raised serious questions about unjustified andunnecessary time delays and monetary costs and a desperateneed for improved efficiency and effectiveness. The problems
in developing countries such as Cameroon are often moreacute by the virtue of resource constraints and economic andpolitical pressures facing the country as well as by the inherent
limitations in procedure and legislation.
A recent study carried out within EIA practitioners in Cameroon to investigate its effectiveness indicated a marked gap
between policy and implementation. The Cameroonian institutional framework for EIA can be seen as highly centralized,with little scope for developing expertise at the local levels.
There is a general feeling among practitioners that EIA is effective at achieving its main purposes of helping decision makers, helping developers, contributing to sustainable development and reducing environmental impacts of development
projects. Other benefits identified by those surveyed are:•22

Promoters and/or sponsors of initiatives: Reduced cost
and time of project implementation; cost-saving modifications in project design ; increased project acceptance;
avoided impacts and violations of laws and regulationthat could attract sanctions; improved project performance, and avoided treatment/cleanup cost.

www.atpsnet.org•
Local communities and/or environment; A healthier local environment and improved human health; maintenance of biodiversity and decreased resource use; fewer
conflicts over natural resource use; Increased community
skills; knowledge and pride; increased general awarenessof environmental issues; generate and/or collect individual research efforts to answer policy/relevant questions,and provide technical advice to decision makers• The practitioners surveyed also highlighted several
weak-nesses in the EIA process of Cameroon some of which
include: absence of the screening and scoping stages; highcost and ignorance, reluctance by many project promotersto conduct EIA; insufficient man power by government tocarry out effec-tive supervision, monitoring and evaluation;ineffective and very low public participation; failure to pay
adequate atten-tion to findings at the implementation stage;socio-economic issues are often not paid sufficient attention;
the procedure is so bureaucratic and over centralized; ToRs
prepared by project

Grantspromoter might leave out some details to avoid responsibility;
ToR are also often validated without field visits; Poor implementation of management plan and lack of transparency andaccountability in the EIA process; Non consideration of the
cumulative environmental impacts from small projects thatare not subjected to EIA; There is also massive corruption on
the credibility of consulting firms as some of the credibility arequestionable.
The deployment of technological devices such as MAPP Infor
app and capacity building of EIA practitioners into the EIA
process of Africa will go a long way to strengthen the EIA process. Additionally, the entire EIA process needs to be reviewed
in order to create room for technological involvement and financial confortability.

ATPS RECEIVES NEW GRANT FROM THE BIOINNOVATE AFRICA
By Dr Nicholas Ozor and Ruth Oriama

T

3. carry out a highly consultative process of soliciting inputs
from all stakeholders to identify strategic goals, approaches
and actions for the region that will be integrated into a draft
regional bioeconomy strategy and policy agenda for eastern
Africa and which can also catalyze and guide the development of national bioeconomy strategies and policies;he ATPS has been awarded a grant by the BioInnovate
Africa Programme to develop an Innovation-led Bioeconomy Strategy for the eastern Africa Region. This iswithin the context of a research consortium comprising of the East African Science and Technology Commission(EASTECO) as the project lead, with the support of the ATPS, theStockholm Environment Institute SEI – Africa, the Scinnovent
Centre-Kenya and the BioInnovations Company Limited, Uganda as project partners. The grant has been awarded following
the Second BioInnovate call for concept notes for sustainablebioinnovations towards value addition and agro/bioprocessing for smallholder farmers and communities in eastern Africa.

4. develop 2 high quality policy briefs based on the status
report on bioeconomy in the region and policy that will support and inform the national and regional dialogues on thedevelopment of national and regional bioeconomy strategies and policy;
5. With the existing framework of BioInnovate Africa, organize regional and multidisciplinary bioeconomy forum andplatform for generating knowledge and insights that could
assist countries to formulate and implement strategies andpolicies in support of bioeconomy development; and,The project, named Developing an Innovation- Led Bioeconomy Strategy for Eastern Africa (BiSEA), is anchored on three
key pillars i.e. building bioeconomies in eastern Africa, building visions and strategies; and creating a policy agenda andan enabling environment.. BiSEA which will run from 20182021 is valued at USD 500,000.00. Its specific objectives are to:

6. seek approval and adoption of the regional bioeconomy
strategy by the relevant organs of the East African Community.

1. establish the status of the bioeconomy in each of the participating countries through reviews of current bioeconomy
landscapes identifying key actors, their roles and relationships as well as assess policy options, gaps, and challenges
for future biobased economic growth in the region;

Anchoring on its specific competencies in science policy
studies, the ATPS is leading in the implementation of preliminary activities that will feed into the proposed Bioeconomy
Strategy for eastern Africa. In collaboration with the National Working Groups, a broad policy review of each of theparticipating countries (Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda,
South-Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda) will be performed toestablish the current bioeconomy landscapes in the region.

2. conduct in-depth assessments and empirical studies ofstrategic issues, components and factors enabling biobased
economic growth in eastern Africa;

23

The core ATPS activities under this project include:
1. An assessment of bioeconomy related policies andregulatory frameworks. Desk studies will be carried out on
relevant grey literature including policy documents fromthe participating countries, regional policies, economic reports, relevant value chain reports and data among otherswith a view to understand the policy statuses, what works
and what does not and why. This assessment will also analyse the links with the strategy to the broader development
framework in the region, including EAC Vision 2050, AU
Agenda 2063 and the SDGs.
2. A comprehensive stakeholder analysis in each of the participating countries, identifying key stakeholders and actors in the bioeconomy sector, and where possible, including them in the consultative dialogue forming regional andnational bioeconomy strategies. This task will be led by the
BiSEA team in collaboration with the NWGs and the National Commissions/Councils for Science and Technology.
3. Identification and assessment of current governancestructures, projects, initiatives etc. driving the current
developments towards a modern bioeconomy in the region.
4. A review of the broader operating environment (environmental scanning), taking into account factors such as
the economy key assets and stakeholder landscape andto collect statistical, demographic information and projections.
5.The ATPS will also develop foresights, scenarios and suggestion pathways for biobased growth in the region. In collaboration with the national working groups and the BISEA
project team, tools will be designed and foresight studies
and scenario building applied in STI and bioeconomy development to (a) determine some of the key opportunities
for biobased economic growth and the future bioeconomy pathways needs) of the eastern African economies, (b)identify bioeconomy R&D priorities to guide government
investments in STI, and (c) benchmark existing capacities
against future requirements to guide Bioeconomy development strategies in the region. These three areas will be
important pillars of the regional bio-economy strategy. It ispremised on the fact that foresighting and scenario building methodologies are increasingly recognised worldwide
as a powerful instrument for establishing common views
on future development strategies among policy-making
bodies. STI foresight studies particularly provide inputs forthe formulation of STI policies and strategies that guide theprioritisation of investments (including R&D investments).
This will be done iteratively through national and regional
stakeholder consultative workshops.

The expected outputs from these exercises include:
1) a report on bioeconomy related policies, regulatory framework, governance structure, government and other initiatives in the region to be directly integrated into the strategy;2) a comprehensive stakeholder analysis report and process
for the region;3) a report on future potential, opportunities for biobased
economic growth and bioeconomy pathways in the six BioInnovate countries; and4) a report on bioeconomy R&D priorities and existing capacities against future requirements to guide Bioeconomy development strategies in the region.
Overall, it is expected that the resulting strategy document will provide a clear, shared vision for an eastern
Af-rican innovation-driven bio-economy and assess the
op-portunities for its development, including possible
policy incentives, and actors and their roles in furthering
the ob-jectives of the strategy. In this light, the key
outcomes of the project will be an increased knowledge
and awareness about the state of bio-economy issues,
landscape and de-velopment in eastern Africa; and theapproval of an inno-vation-driven bioeconomy strategy
for the eastern region by the East African Community(EAC) Governance bodies.
For more information, please refer to the Project’s
web-site at: https://atpsnet.org/projects/developing-aninno-vation-led-bioeconomy-strategy-for-eastern-africabisea/

www.atpsnet.org

Scholarships

SCHOLARSHIPSSSRC Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa Doctoral
Fellowships 2019The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa are open for applications. The SSRC
offers fellowships to support the completion of doctoral degrees and to promote next generation social research in Ghana,
Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. The fellowships support dissertation research on peace, security anddevelopmental topics.
PROGRAM COMPONENTS
1. Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Fellowship: supports short-term research costs of upto US $3,000 to develop a
doctoral dissertation proposal.
2. Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowship: supports 6-12 months of dissertation research costs of upto US $15,000
on a topic related to peace, security and development.
3. Doctoral Dissertation Completion Fellowship: Supports a one-year leave from teaching responsibilities and a stipend
upto US $15,000 to permit the completion of a dissertation that advances on peace, security and development topics
ELIGIBILITY•
Be citizens of a sub-Saharan country•
Be a resident of Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania or Uganda•
Holds a master’s degree
DEADLINE: 15th December 2018
For more information, please visit: https://www.ssrc.org/programs/view/nextgenafrica/24www.atpsnet.org

Opportunities

OPPORTUNITIESIFC/MIIC Next 100 African StartUps Initiative 2018 (Fully-funded
to Africa Forum in Sharm El-Sheikh)
The Next 100 African Startups Initiative, is a program launched in partnership between the Egyptian Ministry if Investment
and International Cooperation (MIIC) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). This year, the program will select up
to 100 promising African start-ups to participate in the Africa 2018 Forum in Sharm El-Sheikh on December 8-10 2018.
Selected start-ups will connect with international investors and financial institutions, government officials and policymakers
from the African continent. The initiative’s aim is to unlock the region’s entrepreneurial potential by showcasing Africa’s best
and brightest entrepreneurs and start-ups, and creating markets for early stage businesses. The program targets Africabased startups that have already demonstrated some level of success either by generating revenue or by developing aworking prototype.
BENEFITS
Travel and accommodation expenses for startups will be covered by IFC if needed.
ELIGIBILITY•
Open to African startups
SELECTION CRTITERIA• Stage of Operation: The Company must either be generating revenue with demonstrated early success, or have aworking prototype or a product in the market.
• Previous Funding: Typically, the company would have already received one or two rounds of funding and is now
seeking Series A or Series B funding in the coming year.
• Positive Impact: The company must must have the potential to make a substantial long-term impact on Africanbusiness and society as well as a commitment to improving the region.
• Viability: The company should have well-formulated goals and plans for development• Leadership: The company must have visionary leadership with the capacity to drive it towards success.
• Independent Company: The company must not be a subsidiary or a joint venture
DEADLINE: 21 October 2018
For more information, please visit: http://next100africanstartups.com/

25

www.atpsnet.org

Photo Gallery

LANDINFOAPP TRAINING
MALAWI Prize 2016
PHOTO GALLERY- ClimateINInformation

Class Room Sessions: Dr. Ernest Acheampong introduces
participants to the LandInfo app, its use , benefits andapplications in the field

Participants ready for the LandInfo App field demonstrations

Dr. Ernest Acheampong, ATPS Senior Researcher guides
particIpants through the field demonstrations on how to
use the LandInfo App

Mr. Alfred Nyambane (Dressed in a Lab Coat), ATPS
researcher assist a participant to test the soil texture atdifferent layers of the soil profile

A participant tests the texture of the soil

Dr. Nicholas Ozor (Left) congratulates a participant forsuccessful ly taking part in the training26

www.atpsnet.org

Photo Gallery

REGIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE DIALOGUE WORKSHOP

Philip Osano, Deputy Director SEI leads a round tablediscussion

Prof. Malachy Okwueze gives his opening remarks to thedelegates present

From
Left: AlexOzor
Kaoga,
Cornelius
Chidi MagDr.
Nicholasamong
key Okelloinvitedand
guestsatnus
Onuohafollow
keenlythepresentations
madeduringthe event.
the workshop

Mr. Alfred Nyambane, ATPS Research Officer moderates
one of the sessions during the workshop

Networking: ATPS Board Chair Mr Chuma Ikenze (Left)
interacts with Khaoula JAOUI (centre) and Chokri
Mezghanni (Right) during one of the break-out sessions

Mr. Abdi Gedi receives his certificate of participation fromATPS Board Chair Mr. Chuma Ikenze27

www.atpsnet.org

ATPS National Chapter Coordinators

ATPS NATIONAL CHAPTER COORDINATORS

Australia
Mr. David Doepel
Chair, Africa Research Group, Murdoch
University
90 South Street
MurdochWestern Australia 6150
Tel: +61418912287
Email: d.doepel@murdoch.edu.au
Benin
Dr. Roch L. Mongbo
Senior Lecturer & Researcher
Director of LADyD (Lab for Social
Dynamics and Development Studies)
Universite’ d’Abomey-Calavi,Benin
02 BP 778 Gbe’gamey
Cotonou, Benin
Tel: +229-21360126
Cell : +229-95966446 / 97374797
Email: rmongbo@intnet.bj or
Rochl_mongbo@yahoo.com
Botswana
Dr. John Mothibi
Lecturer, Faculty of Engineering &Technology
University of Botswana
P/Bag 0061
Gaborone, Botswana
Tel: +267 3554348
Fax: +267 3952309
E-mail: mothibij@mopipi.ub.bw
Burkina Faso
Dr. Benoit Kabore
Université de Ouagadougou
01 BP 4487
Ouagadougou 01
Burkina Faso
Tel: 226 812008/380715
Email: benkabor2003@yahoo.fr

Cameroon
Prof. Sylvester Ndeso Atanga
Senior Visiting Lecturer, Epidemology &Public HealthFaculty of Health Sciences
University of Buea
P.O. Box 63
South West Province
Republic of Cameroon
Tel: + 237-653774599/ 243094176
Cell: +237-99841433
Email: silawrence2011@gmail.com
or ndesoatpscamnet@
rocketmail.com

Cote d’Ivore
Prof. Arsène Kouadio,
Associate Professor, University of
Abidjan-Cocody ; Researcher, CIRES
Director, Laboratoire de croissance
Economique
Executive Director, Institut pour leDéveloppement (IPD),
Coordinator, ATPS Côe d’Ivoire,
Coordinator, RIA Côte d’Ivoire,
Fellow Researcher, AERC, Poverty
Economic Policy (PEP),
Cocody, Boulelevard Latrille
08 B.P. 1295 Abidjan 08, Côte d’Ivoire
Tel : +225 22 44 60 99
Fax: +225 22 48 82 84
Mobile : +225 07 98 46 80 /05 95 97 91
E-mail: arsene.k@ipd-ci.org
arsenekk@yahoo.fr
arsenekouadio@hotmail.com
Egypt
Ms. Manal Moustafa Samra
Focal Point Coordinator
45 Noubar Street, Bab El-Louk
8th Floor, Apt 29,Cairo
Egypt
Tel: +20105005284
Email: mmsamra@gmail.com

Ethiopia
Mr. Wondwossen Belete,
Ag. National Coordinator
Director of Intellectual Property
Protection and Technology Transfer,
Ethiopian Industrial Property
Organization (EIPO)
Email: wondwossenbel@yahoo.com
GambiaVacantGhana
Dr. Fred Amu-Mensah
Senior Research Scientist
CSIR Water Research Institute
P.O. Box M.32
Accra, Ghana
Tel: +233-24-4748197
Fax: +233 21 77 7170
Email: assabil@aim.com orobeyie@gmail.com

28

Kenya
Mr. Kenneth Williams Aduda
Senior Research Fellow
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University
P.O. Box 201 - 40601
Bondo, Kenya
Tel: +254 057 - 2501804
Fax: +254 057 - 2523851
Email: adudakenwo@gmail.com
Lesotho
Mr. Denis Sekoja Phakisi
Acting National Coordinator
Manufacturing Manager
Loti Brick
P.O. Box 8008, Maseru 100, Lesotho
Tel: +266 5885 3389
Fax: +266 22310071
Email: ds.phakisi@lycos.com
Liberia
Dr. Wollor Emmanuel Topor
National Coordinator
Acting Dean
College of Science and Technology
University of Liberia
Tel: + 231-6875802
Email: wollortopor@yahoo.com
Malawi
Kingdom M. Kwapata
Bunda College, P.O. Box 219,
Lilongwe, Malawi
Tel: +265 999195477
E-mail: kwapata@yahoo.com
Mali
Dr. Sidiki Gabriel Dembele
Agrochimie/Agroforesterie et Fertilitédes sols
Bureau Ouest-Africain d’Appui
Organisational et de Technologies
Appropiées
B.P. E 3730, Bamako, Mali
Tél. : (223) 226 2012
Fax : (223) 226 2504
Cell : (223) 71 3806
Email: sidikigabriel@hotmail.com orousmanenia2000@yahoo.fr
MoroccoProf. Saïd Boujraf
National Coordinator
Director of the Clinical Neuroscience
Laboratory
Department of Biophysics and Clinical
MRI Methods

www.atpsnet.org

ATPS National Chapter Coordinators

ATPS NATIONAL CHAPTER COORDINATORS

Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy,
University of Fez
BP. 1893; Km 2.200, Sidi Hrazem Road,Fez 30000, MoroccoTel: +212 667 780 442
Fax: +212 535 619 321
E-mail: sboujraf@gmail.com

MozambiqueEng. Lourino Alberto Chemane
ICT and Planning Advisor
Executive Secretariat, ICT Policy
Commission
Bairro da Coop
Rua Particular Dr. Antonio de Almeida
61 R/C Direito, Maputo
MozambiqueTel: +258 21 309398
Fax: +258 21 302289
Cell : +258 82 3110700
Email: chemane@infopol.gov.mz
Namibia
Surveyor Uzochukwu Okafor
Surveyor- General
Directorate of Survey and Mapping
Ministry of Land Reform
Tel: +264(0)2965036
Mobile: +264811223311
Email: uzo.okafor@mlr.gov.na
NigeriaProf. Michael C. Madukwe
Professor, Department of Agricultural
Extension
University of Nigeria
Nsukka, Enugu State
Nigeria
Tel: +234 42 771019
Fax: +234 42 771500
Cell: +234 803 700 6968
Email: madukwe@hotmail.com or
madukwemichael@yahoo.com
Prof. Femi Olokesusi
Nigerian Institute for Social andEconomic Research (NISER)
P.M.B 5 UI Post Office
Oyo Road, Ojoo, Ibadan, Nigeria
Tel: 234-8023322052/ 8073132917
Fax: +234 2 2413121
Email: femioloke@yahoo.com
RwandaDr. Marie-Christine Gasingirwa,
Director General, Science, Technology
and Research,

Ministry of Education, Rwanda.
Email: cgasingirwa@mineduc.gov.rw

Sierra Leone
Mr. Chris Squire
Head, Dept of Mechanical Engineering
Fourah Bay College
University of Sierra Leone
Mount Auroel
PMB Freetown Sierra Leone
Tel: +232 22 227831
Fax: +232 22 227453
Cell: +232 76 610600
Email: squirechris15@yahoo.com

P.O. Box 4302,
Dar-es-Salaam Tanzania.
Email: hmshinda@costech.or.tz
United Kingdom
Mrs. Martha Ada Ugwu
National Coordinator
59 Highgrove Road
Walderslade, Chatham
Kent, ME5 7SF, UK
Tel: +4401634310389/07985476289
Email: Martha.ugwu@yahoo.co.uk
or Martha@ugwu.fsworld.co.uk

UgandaSenegalEng. John Okuonzi
Dr. Papa Alioune Sarr Ndiaye
National Coordinator
ESP BP 15475 DAKAR Fann
Kyambogo University
SénégalFaculty of Engineering, Department of
Tél : Bureau (221) 864 54 18
Electrical and Electronic Engineering,Fax : (221) 864 21 43
P.O. Box 1, Kyambogo, kampala, uganda
Domicile (221) 820 23 88
Tel: +256 782 353034
Cellulaire (221) 634 58 88
Email: jokuonzi@kyu.ac.ug or
Email : papaas.ndiaye@ucad.edu.sn or okuonzijohnie@yahoo.com
papealiounen@yahoo.fr
United States of America.
South Africa
Dr. Anthony C Ikeme
Professor Mark Swilling
National Coordinator
Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, President & CEO
Matieland, 7602, South Africa
Clintriad Pharma Services
Cell: +27(0)83-459 7417
102 Pickering Way, Suite 200
Tel: +27(0)21-881 3196
Exton, PA 19341
Fax: +27(0)21 - 881 3294
Tel: 484.753.3405
Email: swilling@sun.ac.za
Cell: 215.380.9920
Fax: 610.384.5455
Sudan
Email: aikeme@clintriad.com
Mrs. Nadia Hassan Sidahmed
Economic Studies Department
ZambiaIndustrial Research & Consultancy
Ms Lilian ZULU
Centre (IRCC) Sudan
Coordinator, Centre for Energy
Tel: +249 911449106
Environment and Engineering Zambia
Email: nadiahsh@yahoo.co.uk(CEEEZ) Ltd, 176 Parirenyatwa Road
Suite B. Fairview, P/B E721
Swaziland
Lusaka, Zambia
Prof. Musa Dube
Tel/Fax: +260 211 223118
Senior Lecturer
Email: ceeez@zamnet.zm or
Faculty of Agriculture
lmunyeka@yahoo.com
University of Swaziland
Luyengo Campus
Zimbabwe
P. O. Luyengo, Swaziland
Mr. Benson Zwizwai
Email: madube@uniswa.sz
Economics Department, Universityof Zimbabwe
Tanzania
P. O. Box 880 Harare, Zimbabwe
Dr. Hassan Mshinda
Tel: +263 772494902
Director General
Fax: +263 4 333345
Tanzania Commission for Science
Cell: +263 912245614
and Technology
Email: bmutzwizwai@yahoo.com

29African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS)
8th Floor, Chancery Building, Valley Road
P.O. Box 10081-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254 20271 4092; Fax: +254 20 2714028
Email: info@atpsnet.org
Url: http://www.atpsnet.org
Skype: ATPS Network

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