Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) 2015 now open. Closes October 31, 2014

http://innovationprizeforafrica.org/innovation-prize-for-africa-2015/

Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) 2015 now open – USD 150,000 in prizes for continent’s brightest innovators to accelerate Africa’s development

“With 2000 innovators from 48 countries entering in its first three years; IPA 2015 takes investment in unleashing and supporting sustainable African led innovation past half a million USD.”

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, 1 August 2014 – The African Innovation Foundation (AIF) is calling on all African innovators to submit their entries for the fourth edition of the Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) competition. The IPA is presented annually, enabling and encouraging African pioneers to develop creative ideas and techniques to overcome some of the challenges faced by the continent and support sustainable development.

“At the African Innovation Foundation we are passionate about Africa and its potential, that we firmly believe will be led by empowering a new generation of African innovators and entrepreneurs.  But we also recognise that this new generation needs the resources and the opportunities to realise their ambition,” said AIF and IPA founder Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais.  “ IPA provides a platform to encourage and harness these entrepreneurial skills in order to help improve the lives of Africans and to help realise untapped potential. The prize is also a great way of unleashing creativity and promoting growth within the African continent.”

The IPA is becoming integral to facilitating ground-breaking thinking, creativity and driving awareness to the outstanding work being done in Africa by Africans. IPA 2013 winner, AgriProtein went on to raise $11 million to build its first two commercial farms in Cape Town.

“Africa needs meaningful investment to alleviate poverty and provide inclusive prosperity. To achieve this, we need to be able to provide environments that promote quality investment for the people and reduce risks. Forums like the IPA are necessary to make the most of the continent's investment," said AgriProtein spokesperson, David Drew.

All innovations are evaluated based on the following criteria: originality, marketability, scalability, social impact and Scientific/technical aspects. The best submission will be awarded a grand prize of USD 100 000.  The second prize of USD 25 000 will be awarded to an innovator with an innovation which has the best commercial and business potential. An additional award is a special prize granted to the innovator whose innovation has the best social impact in the community.

The IPA encourages entries in five key categories: Agriculture and Agribusiness, Environment, Energy and Water, Health and Wellbeing, ICT applications, and Manufacturing and Services Industries.

Recognising home grown innovative ingenuity, the prize contributes to increased funding of start-ups, adoption of new and emerging technologies and accelerated growth of the private sector.   With ever changing economic and social environments, it is critical that proposed solutions tackle issues affecting African lives, and that they are effective and are different from the existing ones.  

IPA 2014 named Dr Nicolaas Duneas and Mr Nuno Pires from South Africa the winners of the grand Prize and received USD 100’000 for their Altis Osteogenic Bone Matrix (Altis OBM TM), the first injectable porcine derived BMP medical device in the world — an innovative product for the treatment of bone injuries and voids through the use of a regenerative biological implant.

The IPA also beckons all investors, governments and other stakeholders interested in evaluating, investing and maximising the continent’s resources to participate in this innovative and empowering initiative and make a significant change through generous contributions that will accelerate the Africa’s economic growth.

The deadline for submitting applications for IPA 2015 is 31 October 2014 at 24h00 GMT. For moreinformation on competition categories, conditions of entry, and submission details, please visit:http://innovationprizeforafrica.org/.

About IPA

The Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) is an award founded by the African Innovation Foundation. It mobilizes African innovators and entrepreneurs by providing a total of USD 150 000 to winners who deliver market-oriented solutions for African-led development. The IPA honours and encourages innovative achievements that contribute toward developing new products, increasing efficiency or cost savings in Africa. The prize also encourages private equity investors, government and development leaders to invest across sectors and build a climate that fuels Africa’s economic growth.  For more information and additional media background go to www.innovationprizeforafrica.org , and follow the IPA on Twitter and Facebook.

About AIF

The African Innovation Foundation (AIF) is a new model of 'next generation' African foundations, mobilising innovation across the continent for the personal, cultural and economic benefit of all Africans. AIF’s projects are aimed at releasing untapped potential in Africa, stimulating African ideas & perspectives within emerging industries and across diverse disciplines.  For more information visithttp://www.africaninnovation.org/

Contacts

Janine Raftopoulos, Burson-Marsteller

Phone: +27 11 480 8525

Email: Janine.raftopoulos@bm-africa.com

Pauline Mujawamariya, AIF 

Phone: + 41 44 515 5466 

Email: ipainfo@africaninnovation.org

Situational Awareness: Public Heath Infections in the U.S.

As emergency managers many individuals in your community are having concerns regarding the Ebola pandemic affecting West Africa (WA), and with the recent transport of infected U.S. citizens transported to the U.S. from the African continent.

In order to address the fear, and rumor control of those returning individuals and the West African outbreak.  Deadly diseases and infections are prevalent in the U.S. and have infected groups within America, but in not as large a number of individuals infected and unable to recover from infection in WA.

Annually public school districts, college and university campuses in the U.S. and internationally address endemic virus and bacterial outbreaks on their campuses and have plans to address these issues and in some cases result in the closing of campuses after monitoring and treatment of those infected is completed.

Pre-planning, preparation, and recovery planning are key factors in addressing small, medium, and large numbers of infected individuals within any community by public health, clinic, laboratory detection, hospitals, and infection control organizations worldwide.  Each entity working together to address local and national public health issues.

1.     Rare Seawater ‘Flesh-Eating’ bacteria kills 35 a year.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/02/florida-bacteria-oysters/2909585/

2.     Flesh eating bacteria infects Washington, D.C. area man.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-rt-us-usa-virginia-bacteria-20140731-story.html

Recommend a good visual ‘Hollywood’ film from the 1950’s.

            -Panic in the Street (1950). 

A doctor and a policeman in New Orleans have only 48 hours to locate a killer infected with pneumonic plague

Black Emergency Managers Association
1231  Good Hope Road  S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20020
Office:   202-618-9097
bEMA
“Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.” ― David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

Disability in the Arab Region: An Overview

http://unsdn.org/?p=14741&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+unsdn+%28UNSDN%29&utm_content=FaceBook

The United Nations Social Development Network (UNSDN) provides a global platform for sharing knowledge, experiences and best practices in social development from around the globe.

Disability in the Arab Region: An Overview

Posted by UNSDN on July 31, 2014

PHOTO: UN Photo/Albert González Farran

On 26 May 2014, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), launched the technical material “Disability in the Arab Region: An Overview,” in partnership with the League of Arab States. The launch took place during a regional seminar on disability policies in Arab countries in light of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which was organized by the Sultanate of Oman and the League of Arab States in Muscat on 26-27 May.

The technical material strives to explore the situation of persons with disabilities not in isolation, but in the context of the societies in which they live. As such, it focuses on presenting data on persons with disabilities, which allows for the examination of the magnitude of existing inequalities and the particular barriers faced by persons with disabilities in Arab societies.

The findings of this technical material highlight a number of key trends in the region:

• Disability prevalence rates among Arab countries ranges from 0.4 per cent to 4.9 percent;
• Substantial progress has taken place at the policy level, as overarching institutional and legal frameworks related to disability have expanded significantly over recent years;
• Persons with disabilities in the Arab region continue to experience more limited access to employment opportunities and quality education than their peers without disabilities;
• Certain groups, such as women with disabilities, appear to face additional barriers to participating in social and economic life, especially in accessing education and employment opportunities.

NOTE:  Read complete article at URL location listed above....

CDC: HAN 364: Guidelines for Evaluation of US Patients Suspected of Having Ebola Virus Disease

HAN 364 is now available at http://emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00364.asp

 

                                               This an official

CDC HEALTH ADVISORY

Distributed via the CDC Health Alert Network
August 1, 2014 20:00 ET (8:00 PM ET)
CDCHAN-00364

Summary

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to work closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners to better understand and manage the public health risks posed by Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). 

To date, no cases have been reported in the United States. The purpose of this health update is 

    1) to provide updated guidance to healthcare providers and state and local health departments regarding who should be suspected of having EVD, 

    2) to clarify which specimens should be obtained and how to submit for diagnostic testing, and 

    3) to provide hospital infection control guidelines.

                                                                                                                      

U.S. hospitals can safely manage a patient with EVD by following recommended isolation and infection control procedures.

Please disseminate this information to infectious disease specialists, intensive care physicians, primary care physicians, hospital epidemiologists, infection control professionals, and hospital administration, as well as to emergency departments and microbiology laboratories.

Background

CDC is working with the World Health Organization (WHO), the ministries of health of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, and other international organizations in response to an outbreak of EVD in West Africa, which was first reported in late March 2014. As of July 27, 2014, according to WHO, a total of 1,323 cases and 729 deaths (case fatality 55-60%) had been reported across the three affected countries. This is the largest outbreak of EVD ever documented and the first recorded in West Africa.

EVD is characterized by sudden onset of fever and malaise, accompanied by other nonspecific signs and symptoms, such as myalgia, headache, vomiting, and diarrhea. Patients with severe forms of the disease may develop hemorrhagic symptoms and multi-organ dysfunction, including hepatic damage, renal failure, and central nervous system involvement, leading to shock and death.

The fatality rate can vary from 40-90%.

In outbreak settings, Ebola virus is typically first spread to humans after contact with infected wildlife and is then spread person-to-person through direct contact with bodily fluids such as, but not limited to, blood, urine, sweat, semen, and breast milk. The incubation period is usually 8–10 days (ranges from 2–21 days). Patients can transmit the virus while febrile and through later stages of disease, as well as postmortem, when persons touch the body during funeral preparations.

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Black Emergency Managers Association
1231  Good Hope Road  S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20020
Office:   202-618-9097
bEMA
“Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.” ― David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

FREE Webinar with CEU credits: Death in the Suburbs: How Heroin has Changed the Science and Solutions for Addiction Treatment and Recovery

The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Program Office (SAMH), in conjunction with the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association (FADAA), would like to invite you to a FREE webinar. Approximately 2.0 CEUs are available at no cost.   WHAT: Death in the Suburbs:  How Heroin has Changed the Science and Solutions for Addiction Treatment and Recovery  PRESENTER: Marvin D. Seppala, M.D. Chief Medical Officer, Hazelden DATE: Friday, August 15, 2014                                           1:00 pm - 3:00 pm (EST)       CEUs: Approximately 2.0 Continuing Education Units/Contact Hours are provided for this webinar Florida Certification Board Provider #A-001, Exp. 12/31/2014 Florida Board of Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling Provider #50-676, Exp.  Date 3/31/2015 Florida Board of Nursing Provider #50-676, Exp. Date 10/31/2016 WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Clinical supervisors, program managers and executives in substance abuse, mental health, prevention agencies, community coalitions and managing entities. ABOUT THIS WEBINAR: Addiction to opioids like prescription painkillers and heroin has reached epidemic proportions in this country: The number of people addicted to a pain reliever climbed from 1.4 million in 2004 to 2.1 million in 2012, according to the most recent National Survey on Drug Use & Health (NSDUH) Deaths from drug overdose, driven by the increase in prescription painkiller abuse, now outnumber those caused by car accidents Treatment admissions for prescription opioid dependence have increased at least fivefold since the mid-nineties  In this webinar, Marvin Seppala, M.D., the chief medical officer for Hazelden, will provide an overview about the epidemiology of the opioid epidemic. During this webinar participants will be educated on how the combination of science and spirituality work together as part of a unique approach to treating opioid addiction, giving patients the best opportunity for long-term recovery. To register for this event, please click on the link or copy and paste into your browser: https://fadaaevents.webex.com/fadaaevents/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=662220317     Please read the following important messages before registering for this event: FADAA uses WebEx as our online event system. Audio for the event is accessible via the internet. To receive audio, attendees must join the event by using computers equipped with speakers. There is no teleconference for this event. Once the host approves your registration, you will receive a confirmation email message with instructions on how to join the event. To avoid problems with log-in and receiving credit for attendance, please use the confirmation email to join the event. This email is coded with your registration information. Also, please confirm that email from "MESSENGER@WEBEX.COM" is not blocked as spam or junk by your email server.   ABOUT THE PRESENTER:  Marvin D. Seppala, M.D., is a graduate of the Mayo Medical School. He completed his psychiatric training and a fellowship in addiction at the University of Minnesota Hospitals in Minneapolis. He is the Chief Medical Officer of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation where his responsibilities include overseeing all interdisciplinary clinical practices, maintaining and improving standards of care, and supporting growth strategies for residential and nonresidential addiction treatment programs.  Dr. Seppala is the author of Clinician's Guide to The Twelve Step Principles and co-author of Pain-Free Living for Drug-Free People, and When Painkillers Become Dangerous.He has appeared as a guest on the CBS-TV "Early Show" and National Public Radio. He has been quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal.   This product is supported by Florida Department of Children and Families Substance Abuse and Mental Health Program Office funding