Nestle Ethiopia has manufactured the popular baby food brand Nestle Cerelac and has brought it into the market. Nestle Cerelac is baby food combined with milk and made for infants above 6 months.
The brand has reintroduced two products namely Cerelac Wheat 20 grams and Cerelac Banana 200 grams for the price of 120 birr. The products can be purchased from supermarkets, shops, hospitals, pharmacies, and wholesalers.
Nestle Cerelac contains vitamin A and C, Iron, Iodine, Omega 3, and Vitamin B which are proven to enhance cognitive development.
Nestle introduces Nestle Cerelac
Gas can ease Africa’s energy challenges
Africa has the potential to generate 400 gigawatts of gas-generated power with Tanzania, Mozambique and Nigeria accounting for 60 percent of the capacity, indicating limited penetration of gas in non-gas producing African countries.
The share of gas in electricity generation was 14 percent in 1990, growing to 21 percent by 2000. By 2010, nearly a third of electricity generation was sourced from gas, which increased to nearly 40 percent by 2018.
Presenting a paper on Energy Transition, Regulation, Finance and the Private Sector at a side event of the ongoing seventh Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, Yohannes G. Hailu, an Economic Affairs Officer with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said Africa should tape into gas which has become more attractive, and could replace more expensive fuel sources, and in the process reduce the cost of energy on the continent.
African governments urged to pay attention to impacts of conflict, climate change and COVID-19 on food systems
Africa, as a food producing continent can produce enough to feed itself and the rest of the world. But instead of being the food basket of the world, the continent is facing increasing hunger and malnutrition due to factors such as the impact of climate change, conflict and COVID-19, described as the ‘Triple Cs’.
These challenges are not only threatening future food production prospects but they are also rolling back achievements in Africa’s food systems.
At a panel discussion held virtually as a side event of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD), the discussants gave vivid images of the threats posed by the ‘Triple Cs’ and made recommendations on fashioning out appropriate responses to dealing with the issues.
According to Dina Saleh of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the interactions between conflict, climate change and COVID-19 negatively impact the food system as well SDGs and Agenda 2063. She urged African countries to build resilient food systems to address the challenges.
In his contribution, Chimimba David Phiri, the FAO Subregional Coordinator for Eastern Africa and FAO Representative to the African Union, noted that there was no better opportunity to discuss Africa’s food systems than now.
Citing incidents of droughts and floods, Phiri said what used to occur every 10 years in the past, now occurred every two years.
‘LeadHERs: Life Lessons From African Women’
As part of its celebration around International Women’s Month, Facebook announced the launch of ‘LeadHERs: Life Lessons From African Women’, a collection of beautifully inspired stories & life advice from 19 women who are breaking boundaries in fields such as media, entertainment, politics, education and business.
Available for free in digital and physical formats, the book provides inspirational real-life stories for future generations and young leaders. Each chapter focuses on a personal experience and life lesson around how these women have navigated their path to success, alongside the challenges they have had to overcome along the way. ‘LeadHERs: Life Lessons from African Women’ is aimed at encouraging, inspiring and guiding the reader – no matter the background, age or ambition.
‘LeadHERs: Life Lessons from African Women’ follows on from the successful 2020 launch of ‘Inspiring #Changemakers: Lessons from Life and Business’ in South Africa. This 2021 book is further brought to life through a series of beautifully illustrated artwork specially commissioned from four female artists from across the continent – Massira Keita from Côte d’Ivoire, Lulu Kitololo from Kenya, Karabo Poppy from South Africa, and Awele Emili from Nigeria.
With over 5,000 copies printed, the book will be provided for free to a number of Facebook’s local training partners including She Leads Africa, Fate Foundation, DigifyAfrica, Siyafunda, Smart Ecosystems for Women and cCHub. These will be distributed across 15 countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Liberia, Senegal and Kenya – in schools and to beneficiaries of training(s) offered by Facebook partners.
Nunu Ntshingila, Regional Director, Facebook Africa, said: “At Facebook we know that African women are at the helm of shaping the future of our promising continent – they are changemakers, mothers and CEOs. This book is a celebration of just some of the exceptional African women who in their own right are trail-blazers, motivating and inspiring people and advocating for good across Africa, and the world. We’re excited about their individual stories, inspired by challenges they’ve endured and how they’ve risen above these, and importantly how they’ve turned these into important life lessons to help inspire others.”
This March marks the three year anniversary of Facebook’s #SheMeansBusiness programme in Sub-Saharan Africa, an initiative designed to inspire, empower and train female entrepreneurs across the continent to build, grow and start their own businesses. As part of this, Facebook is launching a new training component on business resiliency through financial education in Nigeria, South Africa and Senegal, with the additional modules aimed at improving female business owners’ financial management skills, whilst addressing challenges that women entrepreneurs face, such as access to capital.
