AFRICA: 20 women scientists awarded for their sustainable projects

The L'Oréal Foundation and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have announced the winners of the "Young Talent in Sub-Saharan Africa for Women in Science" prize. The initiative, now in its 13th year, rewards twenty women for the contribution of their research to sustainable development south of the Sahara.

Since 2010, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the L'Oréal Foundation of the French industrial group specializing in cosmetics, reward each year twenty initiatives led by women scientists in sub-Saharan Africa for the implementation of the United Nations' fifth sustainable development goal (SDG5) on gender equality.twenty initiatives led by women scientists in sub-Saharan Africa to implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG5) on gender equality.

Among the winners of the 2022 cohort is Malagasy researcher Lovasoa Rina Raharinaivo, whose work focuses on "pollution and its alternatives in Madagascar", and Rwandan scientist Madagascar" and Ange Cynthia Umuhire of Rwanda whose theme is "predicting and forecasting space weather in Rwanda.

In West Africa, L'Oréal and Unesco have focused on access to water and the preservation of biodiversity, respectively advocated by MDGs 6 and 15. Thus, the project of "carbon sequestration in the Afromontane forest" developed in Nigeria by the young Iveren Abiem was honored. For her part, the researcher Farida Boube Dobi was also awarded for her initiative on the management of sovereign water in Niger, a resource that is essential for irrigation, especially around the capital Niamey, where the arid climate affects the livelihoods of the population.

Science for sustainable development

The jury chaired by Aggrey Ambali, Director of Technical Cooperation and Program Financing at the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-Nepad) was particularly impressed by Togolese Mawulolo Yomo. The doctoral student specializing in life sciences and the environment has distinguished herself through her work on "the dynamics of seawater intrusion in the coastal sedimentary basin of Togo.

Indeed, the Togolese coastline, which is 50 km long, is constantly weakened by frequent flooding, particularly in the Plateaux region where the overflow of the Mono River (at the border with Benin, editor's note) has recently untied the Ila and Anyékpada bridges. This is why the government of this West African country is implementing the project Strengthening the resilience to climate change of coastal communities in Togo (R4C-Togo).

At a total cost of $8.9 million (more than 4.4 billion CFA francs), the initiative is funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to strengthen the resilience of coastal communities to climate change.The initiative is funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to strengthen the food security of 99,500 Togolese through innovative technologies and solutions developed by 2,100 local entrepreneurs. As part of this project, the Togolese government is supporting 70 women's cooperatives, particularly women who depend on local natural resources for their livelihoods, especially in coastal areas threatened by erosion.

Source: www.afrik21.africa