The Executive Director of the Centre for Space Science and Technology Education (CSSTE) situated in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Dr Ganiy Ishola Agbaje said this on Wednesday, August 28th,  2019 during a media chat with newsmen in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

Dr Agbaje was in Ibadan to introduce the Multiscale Flood Monitoring and Assessment Services for West Africa (MiFMASS), to the media and other stakeholders in the management of flooding and other emergencies in the state.

While acknowledging the efforts of disaster management agencies and other stakeholders involved in flood management in the country, Dr Agbaje noted that the MiFMASS has only come to compliment ongoing efforts.

Representatives of the Red Cross, NIHSA, UIFMP, OYSEMA with members of the CSSTE Consortium at the event

The purpose of the project is to develop a number of services through which space technology and particularly satellite data can be used in preventing and mitigating the impact of flooding in the West African subregion.

The end product will see existing agencies in all the countries being trained on how to use space technology, analyze data and communicate relevant information to the grassroots through multiple channels.

MiFMASS is being executed by a consortium of seven academic and research institutions from five West African countries namely Burkina Faso, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Benin Republic and Nigeria with Agbaje’s CSSTE leading the project.

The project was facilitated under the European Union Commission’s Global Monitoring for the Environment and Security (GMES) in collaboration with the African Union Commission.

CSSTE Consortium Secretary, Mrs Shonubi; CSSTE Director, Dr. Agbaje; IUFMP Communication Consultant, Mr Adefioye; and OYSEMA Secretary, Mr Aransi

Dr Agbaje, however urged  agencies like NIMET, NEMA, NIHSA and others  to embrace the type of collaboration that the CSSTE consortium now proposes in the interest of the masses, assuring them of better and more sustainable results for their efforts.

The Communication Consultant, for the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project (IUFMP), Mr Abiodun Adefioye was also present at the media briefing.

He lauded  the CSSTE for the idea and particularly their choice of Ibadan as their study site for the pilot stage of the project.

Adefioye, who acknowledged the history of Ibadan with floods, also reiterated his agency’s resolve to embrace every new idea that will make their job easier towards making life better for the people.

He assured the CSSTE consortium of their support and cooperation in making the project successful in Oyo state and eventually become one that would be adopted across Nigeria and other West African countries.

The Secretary of the Oyo State Emergency Management Authority, Alh Lukman Aransi, also expressed delight at the foreign initiative, saying   that it aligns with the efforts of the state government in making flooding less devastating for the people.

Representatives of the Red Cross and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency were also present at the event to identify with the project.

In the last decade, the number of flood events (riverine flood, flash flood) in many West African countries have increased dramatically with serious impact on the economies of the affected countries.

The post MiFMASS: Agency Offers Space Technology Service To Help Nigeria Combat Flooding first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

The post MiFMASS: Agency Offers Space Technology Service To Help Nigeria Combat Flooding appeared first on MegaIcon Magazine.

Facebook is applying the processing muscle of its compute power, its extensive data science skills and its expertise in AI and machine learning to create the world’s most detailed and accurate maps of local populations. Facebook also partners with Columbia University’s Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN ) to ensure that this effort leverages the best available administrative data for all countries involved.

The Boston-based Facebook team uses advanced computer vision and machine learning to combine satellite imagery from Digital Globe with public census data and other sources to create detailed population density maps of Africa. Using Facebook’s machine learning capabilities, Facebook started developing population density maps to provide better tools to support connectivity efforts around the world. No Facebook data has been or will be used in the project and the census and satellite data used contain no personally identifiable information.

High-resolution satellite imagery already exists for much of the world. However, prior to Facebook’s mapping project, it would have required countless hours for volunteers to comb through millions of square miles of pictures to identify which contained a tiny town or remote village.

The Facebook team used AI to solve that problem, efficiently crunching through data at a petabyte scale. For Africa alone, for example, the computer vision system examined 11.5 billion individual images to determine whether they contained a building. The team found approximately 110 million buildings in just a few days.

“Having started my career at USAID working on malaria control, I have witnessed first-hand the critical role that accurate data plays in the effectiveness of humanitarian efforts,” says Laura McGorman, a public policy manager at Facebook. “What’s exciting about projects like these that they provide an opportunity for our company to contribute to these efforts through our expertise in data and machine learning.”

In Malawi, the Missing Maps Project used these AI-powered maps to filter out the 97% of the terrain that is uninhabited. This helped to coordinate the efforts of 3,000 Red Cross volunteers in Malawi who visited roughly 100,000 houses in just three days to educate people about measles and rubella vaccines

“The maps from Facebook ensure we focus our volunteers’ time and resources on the places they’re most needed, improving the efficacy of our programs,” says Tyler Radford, executive director of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, which is part of the Missing Maps Project.

In addition to assisting the Red Cross and Missing Maps Project in Malawi, the maps have been used by aid groups like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, and Humanitarian OpenStreetMap. In Tanzania, Facebook’s AI-powered maps helped kick-start efforts to bring renewable electrification to rural areas.

To understand which locations would benefit most from decentralized energy solutions, the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team collaborated with the Reiner Lemoine Institut and Integration Environment and Energy to combine Facebook’s population maps with detailed data on settlement locations and structures from OpenStreetMap.

Humanitarian OpenStreetMap team personnel then travelled to villages identified as high priority and conducted surveys to understand the populations’ electricity needs. The results of these surveys were provided to agencies involved in rural electrification, helping mini-grid operators choose the most appropriate locations to begin the work.

The Facebook population density maps project now aims to keep adding new continents and countries.

The post Facebook artificial intelligence researchers create the world’s most detailed population density maps of Africa first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

The post Facebook artificial intelligence researchers create the world’s most detailed population density maps of Africa appeared first on MegaIcon Magazine.

The correspondent was given first aide treatment at the venue by the Red Cross and returned to cover the assignment.

According to her, President Buhari who performed the inauguration restated the Federal Government’s commitment to vigorously pursue rail development in Nigeria through the implementation of the railway master plan.

Buhari said this during the commissioning of additional locomotives and coaches at Rigasa Station in Kaduna State.

He noted that the Abuja-Kaduna rail line was a major achievement because it has met the needs of the masses, just as he reiterated his administration’s commitment to linking all major commercial and production centres by rail for rapid social economic development and improving the quality of life of the citizens as well as improving the national integration.

Buhari said, “you may also recall that during the commissioning in July 2016, I reiterated our commitment to vigorously pursue rail development in Nigeria through the implementation of the 25 years strategic Railway Master Plan.

“ We are encouraging private sector participation in Railway with negotiation ongoing with the General Electric (GE) on the concessioning of the narrow gauge lines.

“We are moving forward to more efficient narrow gauge lines to be driven by the private sector, it’s on the basis of this, that we are creating a more conducive environment for private sector participation.

“By strengthening our legal and regulatory frameworks and we reassure Nigerians that we are committed in linking all commercial sector with railway which will improve the quality of life and bring about national integration”, the President added.

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi assured that the two locomotives and 10 coaches would resolve the high demand of passengers on the Abuja-Kaduna train service.

He stressed that the commissioning is a clear demonstration of a functional transport system which is the administration mandate.

Also, he explained that the train was carrying 1,280 passengers on a round trip daily noting that these new coaches would help improve their services and some coaches will also be deployed to Warri-Itakpe Standard gauge line.

Amaechi further maintained that with this new executive coaches, express train service will be introduced with only one stop at Kubwa station and the problem of racketeering on that route will be resolved.

In a related development, the minister disclosed that the Warri-Itakpe rail line would be completed in Sept. 2018 as work is progressing on the Lagos-Kano rail line.

The post In Kaduna, Policeman injures NAN reporter first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

The post In Kaduna, Policeman injures NAN reporter appeared first on MegaIcon Magazine.

The study, published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, uses statistical modelling to measure the impact of Red Cross safe and dignified burial (SDB) teams during the Ebola outbreak. It found that the practice of safe and dignified burials potentially averted as many as 10,450 Ebola cases, decreasing the scale of the outbreak by over a third (36.5 per cent).

Red Cross teams in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea took on the complex task of burying people who had died of Ebola, a crucial yet dangerous task given how infectious dead bodies were. The work of the Red Cross SDB teams was further complicated by deeply valued traditional burial practices of washing and touching the dead, which contributed in the early stages of the outbreak to increased infection rates.

“To respond effectively, we had to change our entire approach to dealing with people who had died and their families,” said Elhadj As Sy, Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). “We stopped talking about ‘dead body management’ and instead started talking about “safe and dignified burials’. We talked to communities and did our best to understand their beliefs and priorities. Ultimately, we earned their trust, and this was critical to success.”

In all, Red Cross teams managed over 47,000 safe burials, accounting for over 50 per cent of all burials conducted during the outbreak. The teams were made up entirely of local volunteers, who spoke local languages and who understood cultural norms and community dynamics. Around 1,500 trained volunteers were involved in this work. As a result of their efforts, many of them were stigmatized and threatened.

“This study reveals the vital role of communities and community-based organizations in the Ebola response,” said Dr Julie Hall, Chief of Staff and Special Advisor on Health at the IFRC. “The success of the SDB programme can be largely attributed to the Red Cross teams who were there before, during and after the outbreak. It was they who provided the basis for a response to the crisis that was both acceptable to local communities, and sustainable.”

IFRC is repeating its call for greater investment in strengthening local and community-level health capacity, including by investing in National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

“The 2017 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reminds us of how precarious global health is,” said Mr Sy. “International partners need to better harness and invest in local capacities, building on homegrown knowledge and skills, that will help communities respond, protect themselves and put an end to future health crises.

“The price tag on this investment is far less than the alternative: outbreaks that are deadlier and more expensive.”

The post Life-saving role of Red Cross volunteers during Ebola outbreak highlighted by new study. first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

The post Life-saving role of Red Cross volunteers during Ebola outbreak highlighted by new study. appeared first on MegaIcon Magazine.