News Overview

We congratulate Delia Grace, professor of food safety systems at the Natural Resources Institute and joint appointed scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), on winning the 2022 Arrell Global Food Innovation Award in the research innovation category. Delia Grace is a renowned scientist with unique and transformative impacts on the safety of food systems and public health in

The rapid evolution of global food safety systems in response to population growth, urbanization, climate change and other socio-economic factors poses many food safety challenges. Globally, unsafe food causes an estimated 600 million illnesses and 420,000 deaths annually, with Africa disproportionately bearing the highest burden of foodborne diseases. To effectively tackle the challenge of foodborne diseases in Africa, a team

Effective communication and constructive dialogue on inclusive ways forward between policy-makers and informal milk vendors can help to bridge the gap between policy and reality in Kenya’s informal milk sector, according to a new research study published in Development Policy Review (May 2022). Around 80% of milk in Kenya is sold informally, providing livelihoods and contributing to the food security

One of the biggest challenges in taking effective and sustainable climate action is the lack of linkages between policymaking, climate research and disseminating innovations for adaptation, and mitigation. To overcome this challenge and create such linkages, the International Livestock Research Institute, together with research and development partners, government agencies, private sector players and the Government of Kenya, has since 2019

Scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Liverpool and elsewhere have published an article in Nature Microbiology on how diverse strains of a common pathogenic bacteria spread in Nairobi, Kenya. The article titled ‘Population genomics of Escherichia coli in livestock-keeping households across a rapidly developing urban landscape’ sheds light on how diseases might emerge

Africa is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, impacting the emergence, re-emergence and spread of vector-borne diseases. The epidemiology of tick-borne diseases in tropical Africa is complex, often characterized by co-infection of livestock and wildlife with multiple tick-borne pathogens. Added to this complexity is the diversity of livestock production systems on the continent, ranging from extensive pastoral systems

Climate change threatens the livelihoods of millions of people in Africa. The rise in global temperatures, changes in rainfall, and the increase of extreme weather conditions all pose a serious risk to the agricultural sector and food and nutrition security. Africa is currently the most uncertain region with regard to global climate predictions. This is due to our limited understanding

Climate change is a global challenge that burdens all humanity, but not equally. The rural poor, particularly women, are more affected by climate-related shocks. Women and men in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa who depend on farming as a primary source of livelihood are considered more vulnerable. Climate shocks such as floods and drought are the main stressors affecting livestock