Podcasts about gambians

Gambians eat an estimated 55 pounds of fish a year, the most fish consumed per person in the region. This trend is shifting, though, with the arrival of the fishmeal plants, which directly affect these communities' food security. And as local activist Lamin Jassey points out, the fishmeal plant companies "never asked [the community], they never asked the young people" whether they wanted these plants in the first place. Join host Ruxandra Guidi as she continues her look at the fishmeal industry in West Africa and hears directly from community leaders on how they're advocating for change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*Israel strikes several locations along Syrian-Lebanese border The Israeli army has said it carried out air strikes on several locations along the Syria-Lebanon border, alleging the sites were being used for weapons transfers to Hezbollah. The Israeli military further claimed that such smuggling efforts "are a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon." This marks the second time in less than 48 hours that Israel has announced air strikes in the border region. *Trump says US close to minerals deal with Ukraine, wants aid 'money back' President Donald Trump said the United States is close to an agreement with Ukraine on sharing revenue from Ukrainian minerals as part of efforts to end the Ukraine war, saying his intent is to recover the aid Washington has provided. "Europe has given $100 billion. The United States has given $350 billion because we had a stupid, incompetent president and administration," he told the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday. The president argued that Washington should not bear the burden alone. *DRC's Tshisekedi plans unity government in response to rebels' offensive Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi will launch a unity government, his spokesperson has said, as he faces domestic pressure over his handling of an offensive by M23 rebels in eastern provinces. Since the start of the year, DRC has faced back-to-back losses in North and South Kivu provinces, fuelling criticism of the authorities' military strategy. *Israel may deploy tanks in northern West Bank for 1st time since 2002 The Israeli army may deploy tanks to the northern occupied West Bank for the first time in 23 years, a media outlet has reported. According to Channel 14, citing anonymous sources, the political leadership is "pressuring for the inclusion of tanks” in the ongoing military raids in the northern occupied West Bank. The tanks "could soon participate" in the raids, the sources further indicated. It added that the decision came "after pressure from the political leadership." *Gambian information minister praises strong bilateral ties with Türkiye Gambian Information, Media, and Broadcasting Services Minister Ismaila Ceesay stated that Türkiye has very strong bilateral relations with Gambia. It is important for Gambians to know their friends and to fully understand Turkish culture, traditions, geography, and history, he stated. Ceesay also suggested signing a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in capacity building, experience sharing, and news exchange between the two countries.

Gambia's President Adama Barrow is sparking outrage after signaling his intention to seek a third term. Gambians are worried it could jeopardize the country's democratic progress. So what are the implications of Barrow's actions should he not back down? Mimi Mefo talks to Degen Jobe from the Center for Research and Policy Development and DW correspondent Sankulleh Janko in Banjul.

President Joe Biden is facing calls from erstwhile allies to exit the race, amid concerns he could lose in November. Others say the criticism is unhelpful – and unwarranted. Also: today's stories, including Texas rebuilding confidence in its power grid, how Gambians fight dictator's impunity from afar, and a look at why too many California kids can't read. Join the Monitor's Mark Sappenfield and Ira Porter for today's news. You can also visit csmonitor.com/daily for more information.

Justice for victims of the Jammeh dictatorship in the Gambia is happening, but not in Banjul. We look at three universal jurisdiction cases.

Death toll rises to more than 100 after Nigeria boat capsizes +++ Gambians react to President Adama Barrow's third term bid +++ No roaming charges: A SADC move towards a single digital market

Thousands have been displaced by ongoing clashes between soldiers and M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo. Delegates from the UN Security Council have been to meet some of them at the Bushagara camp in Goma. Also, a new exhibition in Senegal bears witness to the suffering of Gambians during the 22-year rule of former president Yahya Jammeh. Finally, we sample the diversity of Cameroonian cuisine. 

Gambia has the highest per capita emigration rate of any African nation; between 2015 and 2020 over 33,000 Gambians, mainly young men, left home in search of better opportunities in Europe, despite the low likelihood of success, and significant dangers.Since the end of the dictatorship in 2017, thousands of migrants have returned, and the UN is helping them to find jobs and start small businesses, as well as running projects aimed at developing the wider economy, and dissuading others from making the perilous trip by convincing them that they can have succeed at home.In the fourth episode of our mini-series recorded in The Gambia, Conor Lennon meets a returned migrant making a life for himself and his family in the capital, Banjul, after a traumatic, two-year-long attempt to reach Italy.Music: Within the Earth, Ketsa

Gambia has the highest per capita emigration rate of any African nation; between 2015 and 2020 over 33,000 Gambians, mainly young men, left home in search of better opportunities in Europe, despite the low likelihood of success, and significant dangers.Since the end of the dictatorship in 2017, thousands of migrants have returned, and the UN is helping them to find jobs and start small businesses, as well as running projects aimed at developing the wider economy, and dissuading others from making the perilous trip by convincing them that they can have succeed at home.In the fourth episode of our mini-series recorded in The Gambia, Conor Lennon meets a returned migrant making a life for himself and his family in the capital, Banjul, after a traumatic, two-year-long attempt to reach Italy.Music: Within the Earth, Ketsa

Henry Jarju joins host Steve Teel on this edition of Very Bold Radio. Be inspired every Saturday by difference-makers on Very Bold Radio and Podcast. Henry Jarju Part 5 The Finale In this concluding episode we pick back up with Henry attending DTS for Youth With A Mission in January 2020 which is curtailed by the COVID Pandemic. During this time, Henry's friend starts a ministry to bring food to people that are homebound. Of course, Henry is all in for helping out. He enlists YWAM's help to do so and they share the gospel and pray with people living in isolation and loneliness. This ministry has continued to this day. Henry decides during his DTS (Discipleship Training School) that he wants to go deeper into Bible knowledge.  He observes David who was going through SBS (School of Biblical Studies, a further step available after DTS), constantly studying and reading his Bible. 0:00-12:00 Henry discusses God's call to him and his fiancé to move to Italy to be a missionary there and support refugees who are trying to find their way. They will work at the YWAM base there and know that with all his experiences as a refugee they will be able to encourage, love, disciple, and train other refugees. Ever the learner, Henry may also take an online pastoral course. This will be at YWAM Ragusa in Sicily, Italy. Steve reminds listeners and viewers that God may call them to support Henry and his fiancé's new mission work. 12:00-22:00 Henry, David, and Steve move towards the conclusion of this special series. Steve invites Henry and David to share closing remarks and thoughts. David shares that Henry is such a great representation of the image of God as loving one another. Steve asks Henry to close our 5 part series with a prayer in the language of his choice. Henry chooses Mandinka, which is spoken as a first-language by the most Gambians: 38%. 22:00-28:00See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the Commonwealth country of Canada, to the fifth republic of France, we reflect on how the world remembers Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. As Head of the Commonwealth, the Queen had to negotiate the ever-evolving relationship with its member states as they declared independence and as Britain's relationship to its former colonies underwent profound change. The British Monarch remains head of state of 14 countries, from Canada to the Solomon Islands. Lyse Doucet is in Ottawa where Canada's leaders have made warm tributes and reflects back on her own encounters with the Queen. Despite its anti-monarchist history, one of the more powerful tributes to the Queen emerged from French President Emmanuel Macron. He spoke fondly of her as a ‘great head of state' and a ‘kind-hearted queen.' So what was the Queen's relationship to France? In 1972 Queen Elizabeth famously told former President Georges Pompidou 'we are not driving on the same side of the road, but we are going in the same direction', when he lifted the veto to Britain entering the Common Market. Hugh Schofield reflects on a unique relationship. The Oscar-winning film Parasite portrays the story of a low-income South Korean family living in a basement apartment. In one memorable scene, the heavens open and floodwater fills the family home. Last month, in a cruel example of life imitating art, Seoul experienced its heaviest flooding in 100 years. Water rushed into homes, trapping residents inside – four people were killed. The city government has since promised to get rid of the basement apartments and create more social housing. But as Jean Mackenzie has been finding out, this offers little comfort to those who live there. The Gambia is Africa's smallest nation, where the process of reconciliation is proving arduous, five years after the end of a murderous dictatorship. Former President Yahya Jammeh, who fled to Equatorial Guinea in 2017 after losing a re-election bid, is wanted internationally for crimes against humanity, including extrajudicial killings, torture, forced disappearances, and sexual violence. Because he still enjoys a measure of loyalty back home, the nation he left behind is divided. Most of Jammeh's hit men fled when he did, and many Gambians say reconciliation is impossible until they are all brought to justice. When Alexa Dvorson visited the country she witnessed a rare act of contrition. The Republic of Moldova sits on a fault line of geo-politics, with warring Ukraine on one side and Romania, firmly ensconced in the EU and Nato, on the other. Within its borders, is Transnistria, where a Russian-backed separatist war broke out thirty years ago. Today the area is a frozen conflict zone, but Russia still has a military presence. Piggy-in-the-middle between East and West, perhaps nothing tells Moldova's complicated story more clearly than its main industry – wine - as Tessa Dunlop finds. Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Serena Tarling Production coordinator: Iona Hammond Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

Gambians react to High Court death sentence of former members of the intelligence service +++ Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala visa approved +++ Power cuts loom in Cameroon +++ 77Percent: stigma on male infertility +++ Malawi communities' struggle for clean drinking water

“We can't afford not to invest in prevention and peacebuilding” – that's the view of newly-minted UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, Elizabeth Spehar. In an interview with UN News, she gave the example of the effectiveness of the Peacebuilding Fund in the Gambia, where UN agencies have supported nationwide consultations on truth and reconciliation. One beneficiary testified that Gambians “now aspire to live in peace in this country.” Ms. Spehar spoke at length to Liz Scaffidi, about the critical importance of building peace and her role in making that happen.

“We can't afford not to invest in prevention and peacebuilding” – that's the view of newly-minted UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, Elizabeth Spehar. In an interview with UN News, she gave the example of the effectiveness of the Peacebuilding Fund in the Gambia, where UN agencies have supported nationwide consultations on truth and reconciliation. One beneficiary testified that Gambians “now aspire to live in peace in this country.” Ms. Spehar spoke at length to Liz Scaffidi, about the critical importance of building peace and her role in making that happen.

On Saturday, Gambians will head to the polls to vote for their next leader. Many people say they feel they're voting in a ‘new Gambia'. In 2016, Yahya Jammeh was ousted after 22 years in power. So, what's at stake for the continent's smallest country? #AfricaDaily Host: Alan Kasujja Guests: Omar Wally and Assan Jobe

Former dictator Yahya Jammeh makes for an unlikely ally – and yet, his political clout seems to appeal to Gambian President Adama Barrow. An alliance between their parties has been announced ahead of December's presidential election. So, what does it all mean for The Gambia? Hosted by Alan Kasujja (@Kasujja on Twitter) Guest: Mustapha Darboe, Gambian journalist and news editor. #AfricaDaily

The AFP news agency reports that the Gambia has formally blocked flights bringing migrants deported from the European Union.Gambian foreign ministry spokesman Saikou Ceesay told AFP large numbers of returning migrants would cause social upheaval.AFP says the news came as Germany was preparing to expel a number of Gambians.The AFP says International Organization for Migration more than 35,000 arrived there between 2014 and 2018 - often taking dangerous journeys over the Mediterranean.The IOM says overseas remittances of an estimated 118,000 Gambians living abroad account for more than 20% of the country's GDP.

The AFP news agency reports that the Gambia has formally blocked flights bringing migrants deported from the European Union.Gambian foreign ministry spokesman Saikou Ceesay told AFP large numbers of returning migrants would cause social upheaval.AFP says the news came as Germany was preparing to expel a number of Gambians.The AFP says International Organization for Migration more than 35,000 arrived there between 2014 and 2018 - often taking dangerous journeys over the Mediterranean.The IOM says overseas remittances of an estimated 118,000 Gambians living abroad account for more than 20% of the country's GDP.

The AFP news agency reports that the Gambia has formally blocked flights bringing migrants deported from the European Union.Gambian foreign ministry spokesman Saikou Ceesay told AFP large numbers of returning migrants would cause social upheaval.AFP says the news came as Germany was preparing to expel a number of Gambians.The AFP says International Organization for Migration more than 35,000 arrived there between 2014 and 2018 - often taking dangerous journeys over the Mediterranean.The IOM says overseas remittances of an estimated 118,000 Gambians living abroad account for more than 20% of the country's GDP.

1 in 10,000: The physician to person ratio in The Gambia, one of the lowest in the world. 4%: The percentage of Gambians that has health insurance. ~USD$0.50: The cost to visit a public hospital in The Gambia. USD$1 billion: The size of the counterfit and sub-standard medication market in Sub-Saharan Africa. Healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa is riddled with problems that have rippling effects on many African communities and economies. So after years of working at US pharmacy chain Walgreens in North Carolina, Gambian national Dr. Ismail Badjie returned home to Banjul, (The Gambia's capital) to revolutionize the Gambian healthcare sector by building the country's first vertically integrated, digitally friendly pharmacy in 2019. Less than 2 years later, InnovaRX is helping tens of thousands of Gambians get access to affordable healthcare and FDA-approved medications, with Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia on the horizon. But to go from Walgreens to changing healthcare as we know it in West Africa? A story heard only on Not From Silicon Valley.

Meet Ebou Lawrence Mendy founder of the software company Kameko Gambia, a company that builds customs solutions for small and medium enterprises.  However, besides doing client work, Ebou and his team are also spinning of their own solutions as for example the ride hailing app Ryde Africa and a lightweight accounting solution for Gambian businesses.  In the interview Ebou speaks about 

Champions league winners On 7 January 2019, eight hundred and seventy-one days ago today, we Gambians, through the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, began a unique process of holding live public hearings of the testimonies of the victims, as well as those of self-confessed perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses that occurred in The Gambia during the twenty-two year military dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh. The principal purpose of the Commission was very simple: to establish the truth of what happened during the twenty-two year reign. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bmail/message

Ugandans react to Dominic Ongwen’s conviction by ICC +++ Bobi Wine presents evidence of election fraud, abuses +++ Gambian diaspora to vote for the first time +++ Canes reintroduced in Kenyan schools

EU postpones funding for Ethiopia +++ Tanzanians warned not to share COVID-related information +++ Ugandan opposition threatened +++ Gambians divided on COVID times compensation for sex workers

Ethiopia: Tigrayans flee capital Mekele in fear of an imminent assault +++ Gambians say EU paid bribes in EU-Gambia migrant repatriation deals +++ Cameroon's lawyers are planning a week-long, nationwide strike starting on Monday over "law enforcement harassment" +++ Uganda's Spice Diana swaps the stage for the screen as many artists around the world are cut off from audiences

Escuchamos los tres discos favoritos del mes de octubre, con el indio Sandeep Das y el Hum Ensemble, que reúne músicos de India y Siria; el japonés Yukihiro Atsumi, y los gambianos, lamentablemente ya desaparecidos, Dembo Konte y Kausu Kuyateh. Continuamos adelantando el nuevo disco de Sara Vidal, lo que aprovechamos para saludar a nuestros nuevos oyentes portugueses de Rádio Universidade de Coimbra. Saludamos también al canciller de la embajada de España en Lima, Antonio Moriana, que nos escucha a través de Radio Filarmonía en la capital peruana, poniendo música de la banda andaluza en cuya fundación estuvo involucrado: Andaraje Y seguimos con #Mundofonews, hablando de convocatorias inminentes y escuchando la música que está sonando en ellas: Fira Mediterrània de Manresa; WOMEX, este año en Budapest; Journey to Korean Music y PAMS, en Seúl, y la Indonesian Music Expo que se celebra en Bali. We listen to the three favorite albums of October: the one of the Indian Sandeep Das and the Hum Ensemble, which brings together musicians from India and Syria; the Japanese Yukihiro Atsumi, and the Gambians, unfortunately already passed away, Dembo Konte and Kausu Kuyateh. We continue previewing the new album by Sara Vidal and we take the opportunity to greet our new Portuguese listeners of Rádio Universidade de Coimbra. We also greet the Chancellor of the Spanish Embassy in Lima, Antonio Moriana, who tunes in to Mundofonías through Radio Filarmonía in the Peruvian capital, playing music of the Andalusian band in whose foundation he was involved: Andaraje. And we also bring our #Mundofonews, talking about imminent events and listening to the music that is performed in them: Fira Mediterrània de Manresa; WOMEX, this year in Budapest; Journey to Korean Music and PAMS, in Seoul, and the Indonesian Music Expo held in Bali. Favoritos de octubre / October favorites · Sandeep Das & The Hum Ensemble – Parvaaz-e noor: Flight of light – Delhi to Damascus · Yukihiro Atsumi – Waiha bushi – Kachofugetsu · Dembo Konte & Kausu Kuyateh – Demba Hajada – Kairaba Jabi Saludos y noticias / Greetings and news · Sara Vidal – Adelaidinha – Matriz · Andaraje – La huida a Egipto – Al grano: coplas de campo, vol. 2 · Maria del Mar Bonet – Zapateo – Ultramar · Xabi Aburruzaga – Bost – Bost · NST & The Soul Sauce meets Kim Yulhee – Joong taryeong – NST & The Soul Sauce meets Kim Yulhee · Jegog Suar Agung – Suar udaya giri – Gamelan joged bumbung · Suarasama – Zapin rindu – Fajar di atas awan Imagen / Image: Yukihiro Atsumi

Yahya Jammeh, the Gambian leader with a fantastical belief that he could cure HIV, was replaced in 2016 by Adama Barrow. Plucked from obscurity, he promised to usher in an era of justice. But the country is spiraling into instability, and Gambians have yet to see change.In this episode: Nicolas Haque, Al Jazeera journalist based in Dakar, Senegal.For more:The Gambia clamps down on protests against President BarrowStill reeling from Jammeh years, Gambians wait for justiceConnect with The Take: Twitter (@AJTheTake), Instagram (@ajthetake) and Facebook (@TheTakePod).

Viajamos en el tiempo y el espacio con músicas que nos llegan del encuentro de músicos chinos y turcos; de europeos del sur enamorados de las expresiones célticas; de flamencas, griegas, armenios, británicos y gambianos. Y recuperamos, con nuestra máquina del tiempo a pedales, los sonidos perdidos de antaño en Kenia, la isla de Mauricio y las de São Tomé e Príncipe. We travel through the space and the time with the music that comes from the meeting of Chinese and Turkish musicians; from the love of Southern European artists for the Celtic expressions; from flamencos, Greeks, Armenians, British and Gambians. And we recover, thanks to our time machine with pedals, the vintage lost sounds from Kenya, Mauritius and São Tomé e Príncipe. · Guo Gan Trio – Chinese bike – Gobi desert · Birkin Tree with Aoife Ní Bhríain – The dawn chorus – Five seasons · Briganthya – Spiral – Samhain · María La Mónica – Bulería del sabé – Carretera y mantra · Maria Farantouri & Cihan Türko?lu – Triantafylia – Beyond the borders · Alan Shavarsh Bardezbanian – Istenem barbacim – Oud classics from Armenia, the Balkans & the Middle East · Yaseen & Party – Haki yako – Yaseen & Party · Harold Berty – Pas bisin batte li – Soul sega sa! Vol. 2: Indian Ocean segas from the 70's [VA] · África Negra – Aninha – Leve, leve: São Tomé & Príncipe sounds 70s-80s [VA] · Musa Mboob & XamXam – Jarindarey – The Gambia sessions Imagen / Image: Alan Shavarsh Bardezbanian

You have likely heard the saying “You are what you eat.” But what if I told you that how well your parents were eating in the days and months before you were conceived may actually help to determine how your body works—at the cellular level—for your entire life? As it turns out, you were optimized to survive in your parents' nutritional environment. The Leading Voices in Food interviews international nutritionist Andrew Prentice. About Andrew Prentice Dr Andrew Prentice, professor of international nutrition that the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He is founder and head of the United Kingdom's medical research councils, International Nutrition Group in Gambia, Africa. Andrew directs research focused largely on maternal and child health in developing countries with emphasis on early human growth and development, iron infection than anemia, nutritional genetics and epigenetics and calcium and vitamin D and bone health. Andrew is a distinguished scholar on the effects of diet on human health and disease and as a world leader in global health research, he has made major contributions in many areas, two of which are the regulation of Human Energy Balance and obesity and the effects of malnutrition on maternal and child health and poor populations. Interview Summary You live and work in a very remote setting in the middle of the African Bush. Could you explain why? I do live a very strange life, but at the same time it's a very wonderful one. I live within a community that we have been studying--and when I say studying, that sounds as if it's us studying them. Really, they've really been participating in the work we do for over seven decades. Can you believe it? And they have a very good understanding that they're contributing to global health. So I love this population very much. I've been working with them for 40 years and not only that, it gives us some really great opportunities to do some unusual science and I've come to the conclusion that the best way I can do that is actually to live here within that community. So what are some of the main nutritional challenges for people living in that part of the world? Well, let's start off with the sort of global picture and what the World Health Organization and others would genuinely generally articulate in terms of stunting. So eradicating stunting has been part of the goal, reducing it by half has been part of the Millennium Development Goals, going onto the Sustainable Development Goals. And yet there are still at least $160 million stunted children around the world. And it's the World Health Organization target to reduce that by half by 2025, which is very ambitious. Now, why does it matter? I don't care if someone is shorter or taller than another person. But the problem is that stunting is a reflection of the fact that a child has been undernourished for many months, probably years. And so if you look at the patterns across the poor countries of this world, you see that their growth falls away from what would be the normal standard reference curves very rapidly in the first two years of life. And that then has an effect on brain development and cognitive development, and what we call human capital. So that's why we care about it. Are there also affects on resistance to disease? Indeed, so stunted child will be much more likely to die and just in his normal life, but also if admitted to hospital will have a much higher case fatality rate. So we do know that this marker of former under-nutrition is a really strong prognostic indicator of how well or badly a child will do. You're helping paint a picture of the human toll of this because otherwise we just get lost in the numbers, you know, so many millions of people are under nourished and the children affected by stunting. But you've really made it pretty clear that there are very dramatic effects on the lives of children. There are indeed and that's what drives me. I mean on the one hand I'm fascinated, but on the other hand determined to try and do something about it. So that then really brings us on to the next challenge, which is how well have you guys in the nutrition field being doing? And unfortunately the answer to that is very badly. So if we try to intervene with all the sensible things, you know--feeding children better, educating mothers how to look after them better, and we do that even under the rigorously controlled conditions of a randomized trial...we find that we can only get back about one eighth of the deficit in terms of stunting. So that is extremely discouraging and then on top of that, recently people have said, well the nutrition doesn't do so well because of the unhygienic conditions that people are living in. So there have just recently been published, huge trials that have what's called wash water, sanitation and hygiene, and they've really tried to improve the sanitation and hygiene. But unfortunately they have had an absolutely no result. Zero effect on growth. So we're really scratching our heads as to why we can't fix this move the needle. And that's one of the things that drives me to do really quite basic fundamental research. I believe that we just don't understand things well enough and when we do understand them better, we'll be able to fix them better. Can you give an example or two of the kind of basic research you're talking about? I'd love to. I'll give you a couple of stories. The first one is about iron and anemia. So the children here, by the time they're a year old, are profoundly iron deficient and anemic way below even the fifth percentile of the African American data. So they're very anemic. And the question has been why and what can we do about it? So iron is incredibly cheap. It's easy to give it out to children and yet still, when we do that, again under the rigorous conditions of trials, we don't improve very much. We got a bit of an improvement, but we don't certainly don't get rid of the anemia. And so the recent insight we've had on that has been elucidated by the discovery of this new hormone Hepcidin. So Hepcidin is the master regulator of iron metabolism. And I like to use the analogy that Hepcidin is to iron what insulin is to glucose. It really is that important and it's an exquisite molecule it's produced by the liver. But evolution has taught it to do two things. First of all, it's senses iron status. And secondly, it senses threat of infection. Now what's important about these two things is that iron and infection have been intimately linked over evolutionary time. So iron feeds bugs, feeds infections at least as much if not more than it feeds the human host. So that's why the molecule has learned to detect these two things. Now, what we've discovered very recently is that actually children are up-regulating their Hepcidin in response to low grade inflammation and the threat of infection, and that when Hepcidin is upregulated, it's positively blocking the absorption of iron in the duodenum. So, that's really a really important discovery. And incidentally, what seems to be driving up the Hepcidin is respiratory infections. So for the first time, we're able to link the probability...this needs further work, but the probability that actually it's actually respiratory infections that are driving up Hepcidin, which is blocking iron absorption which is this causing a secondary anemia. And, if that's all true, that points to a direct novel directions for therapeutic interventions. And so it's completely turned our old nutritional feeding on its head. Doctors in the past would assume that children are very poorly evolved to absorb iron: so these poor little things, we've got to throw lots of iron at them to overcome this. And in fact what we have now discovered is that in fact they're spending a lot of physiological time positively blocking iron absorption. You're painting a picture that the body is sequestering iron so that it doesn't feed infections that could then prosper even more in the body. Is Malaria a player in this picture? Yes, malaria is a big part of this. What is now clear that being on deficient and anemic is very protective against malaria in young kids. So we're sort of faced with this dilemma. What do we do about this? On the one hand, you could say, well, it's best to leave the children anemic because they're protected from malaria. I would not subscribe to that view at all. I would say, no, we've got to get rid of the malaria. We've got to get rid of the infections and we've got to give these children iron in order to improve their cognitive development and brain function. So let's look at a bigger picture of the world's nutrition landscape and I know that it's changed a lot during the time you've been working on global health. What are some of the key trends that you've seen in the nutrition landscape across the world? So I've described to you already the struggle we have with getting rid of stunting. Now the unpleasant paradox here is that actually as countries pass through the demographic economic transition and become richer then stunting disappears really quite quickly and anemia disappears quickly. So if we look at DHS surveys over various generations, South America, for instance, is a good example, where they used to be a ton of stunting and now it's really disappearing. Okay. That's the good news. The bad news is of course it's inevitably replaced by obesity and overweight and the consequent problems associated with that. Are you seeing that even in places like Gambia? We see it among the adults and particularly adult women. It's a really strange phenomenon here. There's very little obesity and overweight in men, increasing, but there's not that much. Whereas in women we have very high rates and so that tells us something interesting--if men have almost none, and women have a lot, it's not genetic. It's very much behavioral and you know, women are the ones who produce all the food and they also like to be fat and men like women fat. So there's quite a lot of social stuff going on here as well. Are there any indications that obesity rates are increasing and children? Not yet in the Gambia but elsewhere in Africa? Yes, definitely. And you do see some of the very well off Gambian kids who are definitely overweight. So, I mean in this is interesting. I know you because you're very familiar with this field, but you will know probably better than I, that you get this switchover, that obesity starts off being a disease of the rich in poor countries, but then as countries develop it switches over and it becomes a disease of the poor. And we will see that transition I'm quite sure in Africa, and I think we are seeing it already as things develop. Some of your work has to do with the topic of epigenetics and not everyone listening will be fully familiar with this term. Could you explain what epigenetics is and the nature of your work on that topic? Yes, certainly. So I think everybody will be familiar with genetics. So the genes we inherit from our parents, and everybody will know that there are, give or take and very, very rare mutations within our lifetimes. That they're the same. And every cell of the body contains exactly the same DNA apart from the germ cells, the egg and the sperm, but every other cell contains. It's actually the same DNA. So the question is how does that same message create an eye cell or a liver cell or a kidney cell, and that, amongst other things is regulated by epigenetics. So epigenetics refers to the signals and there are many ways that this can occur. I'll keep it simple by just talking about methylation. So methyl groups are added to certain areas of the genome and these can modulate how the genes are expressed. So I like to use a musical analogy. Genes are the actual notes that have been written by the composer on the staff and epigenetics relates to the grace notes or the instructions the composer writes on top of it to play this faster or slower or fortissimo or pianissimo. So that's a really good analogy actually. And that's what epigenetics is about. What work are you doing on this topic? Well, we've been so lucky here. We've come across some fascinating findings. We have a very profound seasonality in the Gambia. So, I'm speaking to you in the end of October, the rain has just finished, we probably won't get another rain for another eight months now. So that changes the foods that are consumed, the whole dietary patterns, very profoundly. So you have a quasi-experiment of nature. People are randomized, or conceptions occurring in different months are randomized, to a different nutritional background. And to cut a long and very complex story short, what we've discovered is that the day a baby is conceived or the month it's conceived in, has a really profound effect on certain of the marks within the epigenome. And these relate to marks that are laid down in the very first few days of life. So if I could expand on that a little bit, when sperm meets egg, each of those has epigenetic marks from the parents. So the sperm carries the father's epigenetic marks, which incidentally were laid down during the father's fetal life. So that means that the paternal grandmother was influencing those marks and the egg, those marks are laid down in the probably in the adolescent period and in the 14 weeks leading up to the release of that day. Now what happens when they fuse is that most of those marks are removed. It's called erasure and they have to be removed in order to create pluripotent cells that can then become things other than sperm and egg. They can become all the other cells that are needed for the body. And so the erasure happens very, very quickly and then patterns are laid back down within the first seven, eight, nine days of conception. And that's what we study. And as I say, we've found that there a very profound differences in those patterns that are laid down in the very first few days of human development according to the month of babies conceived in. And it's really quite remarkable. We hope its going to tell us a lot about how parental nutrition can affect the lifelong health of these babies and any babies around the world. What strikes me as being profoundly important, that certainly a child inherits the genetics from their parents, but it sounds like what's going on in the lives of the parents during critical times like prior to pregnancy and things will affect the child's genetics beyond what the parents just would have passed along anyway. Is that correct? We think so, tied up in this are some intricate, probably evolutionary tricks that have developed over many, many millennia. It would make sense that a baby develops in the way that would be best suited to its environment. So if these areas of the genome that we're studying are able to detect the nutritional circumstance that that egg finds itself in the fallopian tube and in the womb as it's embedding, which of course will reflect the mother's nutritional status. If it can detect that, it can record what it sees and then it can adapt the phenotype, adapt the baby according to that information. That would make a lot of sense and we think, we speculate, that that's what's going on and there's a huge amount of work ahead of us to try and understand the biology. But actually, more importantly in a way, although we think we need to understand the biology first, I was going to say more importantly is would this give what we could call it a pathway to impact. If we understand this better, can we advise mothers, and fathers incidentally, how better to eat in the weeks and months leading up to them conceiving a baby, which would ultimately, we hope, have a lifelong effect on that baby's health. Now, the intriguing thing, and the thing I really love, is that we're able to study this simply because of this wonderful experiment with nature. But I speculate that this affects any moms around the world, so it's not just an issue for Gambian mums or African mums. I think this will be a universal finding once we can sort it all out. Your work contributes to the science showing that early malnutrition experiences put an individual at risk for things like obesity and diabetes later in life. Could you explain how and why that works? But also explain, if you would, whether they're epigenetic possibilities there like, do malnutrition experiences in a mother or father contribute to the likelihood of child might be a risk for those things later in life. Indeed. Thanks for the question, because that opens up a couple of answers. The best thing is to just expand a little bit on what you've said about what we call the developmental origins of health and disease theory. So we have known since the days of Elsie Winterson and Ari McCants at Cambridge, but brought to the fore, really by David Barker in Southampton, that babies' fetal experiences which can be measured by their size at birth have a profound effect on their risk of, for instance, heart disease or diabetes or hypertension as you've indicated, some six or seven decades later. So the question as you posed it is, well, how, how could those facts be linked together? One answer of course, is that what it could be an anatomical change. If the baby hasn't gotten enough of the right nutrients to develop enough renal tubules, then it will have a deficit of renal tubules for the whole of its life, which would cause a potentially drive up hypertension. So that's one possibility. The hot money has been put on epigenetics, that maybe epigenetics is a process by which the epigenomes could be affected by the early undernutrition and could then be giving this unhealthy readout for the rest of that person's life. And that's part and parcel of what we're trying to get to the bottom of it. Just to say again, that the reason for really wanting to do this so fast is that it should lead us, I think, to better next generation interventions if we can solve that. All the biology that's going on. You mentioned earlier in the podcast that the sustainable development goals wished to reduce stunting by half, by the year 2025, and yet there are so many millions of children around the world affected by stunting. Do you see any hope that's an achievable goal? Oh, definitely. Yes. I think the world is progressing and I think one of the very important things for we nutritionists to keep in mind is that the world is changing and in a way that's one of the reasons I love to live and work among the population because I can watch the change that's going on. One of the things that happens here actually is that a lot of money is sent back to families here from people who have migrated abroad. So people who drive your taxi around Duke or anywhere else, are possibly Gambians and possibly sending money back and that's having a profound effect. So I think at the end of the day, wealth and the transmission of wealth and the sharing of wealth around the world will help these things and they will sort themselves out at the deficit once again of moving almost straight over and inevitably over into the problems of overweight and obesity. But I do see a lot of hope. There's one other thing I'd like to mention, which is that I also mentioned that these wash interventions were profoundly unsuccessful. And I think my interpretation of what's gone on there is that they simply haven't been ambitious enough. They've put on the hat of, well, whatever we do must be affordable for very poor people and for poor governments. And I think that's, I mean it was a good start, but it's almost insulting saying that we must keep poor people in poverty and there's nothing better we can do then, you know, offer them soap and tell them how to wash their hands. I think people have a right to live in very good housing. I think everybody has an aspiration to live in very good housing. And once that occurs, I think a lot of the nutritional problems will disappear. So it's a bit intriguing to hear a nutritionist saying, actually nutrition just at the moment might not be able to solve all this. We've really got to have help from what we call them, nutrition sensitive interventions, in concert with the nutrition specific intervention. So that's the way that my thinking at least is going. Produced by Deborah Hill, Duke World Food Policy Center, Sanford School of Public Policy

President Buhari Visits Boko Haram Frontline Africa Today Nigeria's President Buhari visits troops in Borno State to boost moral; On the Menu - fried grasshoppers - much loved in Kampala but why are their numbers declining? Plus the death penalty - do Gambians want it in their planned new constitution? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mapradiong/message

Welcome to the Inside Yorkshire Podcast. A podcast full of stories and tales from the people of Yorkshire.  In this episode your host Susan Baty-Symes interviews Heather Ritchie the President of TIGHR (The International Guild of Handhooking Rugmakers) and founder of the not for profit Rug Aid Organisation, teaching visually impaired Gambians to make rugs. What a tale she has to tell! Susan introduces Heather’s amazing story that has taken her to America, Canada, Australia and even to teach in Africa. Heather wasn’t originally from Yorkshire but since falling in love the with Yorkshire Dales in 1971 she has been there ever since and her passion for helping others through her wonderful rug making skills is something to behold! Susan and Heather discuss the incredible work she has done in Africa, and how the fine art of rug making has helped to provide vital medicine and an important education to visually impaired Gambians. Heather's inspiring story includes tales of teaching 50 blind beggars to make rugs, fundraising to build schools and even sending white canes and talking watches over in an attempt to improve their quality of life. Discover how Heather managed to lease a building in Gambia, paint it purple, orange, red and yellow and turn it into the most colourful workshop around for visually impaired Gambians to come together, make rugs and raise funds to support themselves. Susan and Heather conclude that rug making gives these wonderful people  confidence and independence. BEST MOMENTS “My mother wasn’t a rugmaker, people always seem to think if you’re a rugmaker you take after your mother.” “When teaching 50 blind beggars to make rugs I had to get the message across to them. I began talking about fishing, you’ve got your hook you’ve got your net, and they all know fishing.. so it helped them understand” “They could make a living from rug making and it helps them support themselves and their families.” VALUABLE RESOURCES http://www.rug-aid.org/ https://www.sightsavers.org/ ABOUT THE HOST Susan has been living in Yorkshire for over 30 years. She is passionate about the county she has adopted as her home and she never ceases to be amazed at the wealth of talent ‘Inside Yorkshire’ and the tales that people tell. CONTACT METHOD www.insideyorkshire.co.uk susan@insideyorkshire.co.uk

In this episode of The Blog Readings, I read one of my earliest posts, titled; Getting a Free Lunch in The Gambia. I was inspired to read this post after having a chance to reflect on my service as a Peace Corps volunteer in The Gambia earlier this week. I was interviewed by Ray Benedetti and Matt Sams from the OutrageU.S. podcast. And during our talk they asked me about my experience for an upcoming episode that they will be releasing. Now I won't spoil anything, but our conversation really got me thinking about some of the challenges that I faced while living in West Africa. And how it wasn't always easy for me to fulfill my most basic needs. But through the kindness of many Gambians that I came across, I never went hungry. So to go along with that, I decided to read this post that I wrote which talks about food in The Gambia. I hope you like it and find it insightful!

After more than 20 years under the authoritarian rule of former President Yahya Jammeh, Gambians have great expectations of the new administration. They want a well-performing economy, jobs, good health care and education, and an accountable government that will uphold the constitution. Many people are also hoping the new government can help stem the large number of young Gambians who every year perilously try to cross the Mediterranean sea in the hope of making a better life in Europe. During his election campaign, the new President, Adama Barrow, promised to free political prisoners, remove repressive laws, return the country back to the International Criminal Court and restore relations with international community. Under former leader Yahya Jammeh, Gambia a country of fewer than two million people become largely isolated and its economy stagnated as donors withheld aid and grants to protest against human rights violations. The human rights watchdog, Amnesty International says dozens of people including human rights activists and journalists were imprisoned or died in mysterious circumstance for criticising Mr Jammeh. Others were forced to flee the country for their safety. Now many families are seeking justice and closure. With many democratic institutions broken down or non-existent, the new government has a big job on its hands. How best can Gambia rebuild itself? What should the new government prioritise? Presenters Umaru Fofona and Rebecca Kesby (Photo: Gambia's new president Adama Barrow waves to supporters, after returning from Senegal. Credit: Carl De Souza / AFP / Getty Images)

TOP STORIES ON AFRICA RISE AND SHINE THIS HOUR... ** Gambians head to the polls today to elect Parliamentarians... ** Central African Republic to honour slain South African soldiers... ** UN meets amid growing outrage over chemical attack in Syria....... ** In Economics: S&P rating agency downgrades major South African banks.... ** And In Sports: South African Swimming Championships get underway....

Gambia, a tiny West African country popular with tourists, is celebrating its first democratic transition after the country’s long serving president, Yahya Jammeh, was finally persuaded to step down. David Pilling, the FT's Africa editor, recently back from the capital Banjul, talks to Fiona Symon about how this came about and what it means for democracy in the wider region. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's official - in what almost surely qualifies as a miracle, Yahya Jammeh, the dictator who has ruled The Gambia for 22 years, was voted out of power in a free and fair election, and Adama Barrow, the opposition coalition candidate, was voted in. What was even more surprising? Jammeh conceded defeat and said he would not be contesting the election result. Given that this happened just before Eduardo Dos Santos of Angola announced that he would not be running for president next year, I was prompted to ask what is going on with African dictators. Are we finally seeing the last of them? I hope so. Press play! Resources The marbles have spoken: Gambians party after voting out 22yr ruler in shock election upset Gambia president-elect Adama Barrow talks to Al Jazeera Gambia's Adama Barrow says shock win heralds 'new hope' The Gambia's Yahya Jammeh The Gambian Dictator Who Kills His Own Family Members To Stay In Power Witchcraft and execution: the darker side of Gambia Bitter medicine: how Gambian president claims to cure Aids Gambian President to Build Controversial Herbal Medicine Hospital for HIV Patients Gambia election: Government shuts down internet as President Yahya Jammeh faces threat to 22-year rule Gambia's president warns against protests after elections Gambia vote a roll of the marbles Gambians cast votes with marbles instead of ballots The Gambia: seven facts about the country leaving the Commonwealth The 7 worst things Gambia's president Yahya Jammeh has ever said about gay people Gambia’s president threatens to slit the throats of gay men

Alieu Jallow founded the Young Entrepreneurs Association in 2012 to improve young Gambians’ entrepreneurial capacities and move them from being job seekers to job providers. He has over three years’ experience initiating, designing, and implementing robust business support services. He is currently project manager at the American Chamber of Commerce where he is working to setup the first startup incubator. His end goal is to help build the next generation of entrepreneurs in the Gambia and he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of the Gambia. He also volunteers as the coordinator for Generation Change Gambia, American Corner's, and Partnership in Employment. His interests include engaging with fellow Gambian youth to explore entrepreneur focused opportunities. Upon completion of the Fellowship, Alieu plans to continue his work in entrepreneurship development with a focus on trainings, capacity building, access to finance, and business support services.