West and Central Africa Winners of Apps4Africa Announced

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Office of the Spokesperson

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December 8, 2011

As part of our engagement with African partners in addressing the challenge of climate change, the U.S. Department of State announced the West and Central Africa winners of the Apps4Africa: Climate Challenge in Durban, South Africa on December 7, 2011. Apps4Africa consists of three African regional competitions to address local climate change challenges through the development of web-based and mobile applications. These contests build on the outcomes of regional climate change adaptation workshops organized by the Adaptation Partnership, which includes the United States and more than 20 other countries.

The winning applications were announced at the U.S. Center at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Durban. The announcement was part of an event highlighting country-driven solutions to climate change adaptation in Africa, demonstrating that the United States is working with partners to bring together practitioners, policy-makers, and African technology innovators to address climate change challenges through programs such as the global Adaptation Partnership and Apps4Africa.

First place in the West and Central Africa Apps4Africa went to HospitalManager, a web-based application from Nigeria that will help hospitals prepare for the possibility of more frequent extreme weather events such as storms, floods, and heat waves. Second place went to the EcoFund-Forum, a web-based app from Senegal that helps communities share successful strategies for adapting to local impacts of climate change. The third prize winner was Farmerline, a mobile and web-based app that will help farmers in rural Ghana obtain the information they need to increase yields in the face of changes in the growing season and climate variability. Winners will receive cash prizes. Private partners, including TED and Indigo Trust, are contributing follow-on support. The East Africa Apps4Africa contest concludes December 20, 2011, and winners will be announced in January 2012. The Southern Africa competition runs from February 1, 2012 through March 31, 2012, with winners announced in April.

For more information please visit http://apps4africa.org or contact Marissa Rollens, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of African Affairs, at 202-663-0531 or RollensMK@state.gov.