Category: Market

Climate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. It is estimated that environmental factors take the lives of around 13 million people every year. Global warming is influencing weather patterns, causing heat waves, heavy rainfall and droughts.

The Greater Horn of Africa is facing an unprecedented, acute hunger and health crisis driven by climate change, and compounded by conflict and economic shocks. Forty-seven million people in that region are now experiencing high levels of malnutrition or worse – up from 31 million – and more will go hungry as the drought affecting parts of the Region is expected to continue. Malnourished people become more easily sick, and sick people become more easily malnourished.

Climate change is also a major aggravating factor for infectious diseases like cholera and dengue fever. Disease outbreaks are surging in the Greater Horn of Africa, escalating the health emergency. The impact of outbreaks of infectious diseases during emergencies is multiplied, especially when combined with low vaccination coverage and poor access to health services.

WHO and partners are on the ground, ensuring access to basic health services, providing treatment for severe malnutrition, and helping countries detect, prevent and respond to disease outbreaks.

Source: World Health Organization

OUAGADOUGOU— The ECOWAS Commission through its Department of Human Development and Social Affairs (DHDSA) has launched a support programme for Education in countries with emergencies in the Region.

The programme is aimed at assisting Member States affected by conflict and humanitarian crises for school reintegration and continuation of education for pupils and students, particularly girls and other vulnerable groups.

The pilot phase of the programme, which was conducted initially in Burkina Faso, will be conducted also in Mali, Niger and Nigeria under the ECOWAS Action Plan on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) in the Region.

The main objective of the support, according to the DHDSA, is to ensure continuity of learning and training for displaced children, girls and other vulnerable groups in the communities to minimise school dropout and safeguard the progress and investment made in Education.

The programme featured technical consultations between the ECOWAS Delegation, led by its Resident Representative in Burkina Faso and staff from the Department of Human Development and Social Affairs, Directorate of Education, Science and Culture.

The Burkinabe Delegation was led by the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other key staff from the Ministries of Basic Education, Higher Education, and Gender and Social Affairs.

The meeting was also to identify critical areas that needed support in education in displaced communities within the country.

Support areas identified at the end of the deliberations covered pupils and students at the Basic, Secondary and Tertiary levels, including Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET), reintegrating them into schools and providing educational materials.

The targeted beneficiaries of the support programme were 700 youth and children in emergencies, which included out-of-school children, girls and other vulnerable groups in recovering and affected communities.

The ECOWAS Commission presented a grant of US$ 200,000 to the authorities to facilitate the programme.

The authorities expressed their appreciation for the support, particularly at this difficult moment of insecurity and high rate of school dropouts and assured that the grant will be judiciously used in the targeted areas of intervention identified for the support.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt– The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt, agreed to develop one of the world’s largest onshore wind farms in Egypt, Egypt’s presidency said in a statement, on its website.

Egyptian President, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and UAE President, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries, to launch the 10-gigawatt wind power project in Egypt, the statement added.

The signing took place on the sidelines of the ongoing 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.

“The deal is consistent with our commitment to advance renewable energy solutions, that support sustainable development,” the UAE leader tweeted.

The project will offset 23.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, which is equivalent to around nine percent of Egypt’s current carbon dioxide emissions, according to the Emirates News Agency, the UAE’s official news agency.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

(JUBA, South Sudan): The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) yesterday concluded a two-day Steering Committee Meeting which brought together the National Focal Persons for Blue Economy and Fisheries Directors along with technical and development partners.

In his opening remarks, the Minister of Livestock and Fisheries of South Sudan, Hon. Onyoti Adigo Nyikwec, stated: “The Formulation of the project enabled IGAD to develop the “IGAD Blue Economy Strategy (2012 – 2025)” which comes as a milestone to support implementation of CAADP (Malabo declaration) and meeting the African Union 2063 Transformation Agenda, of “inclusive growth and sustainable development”. This transformation agenda will help in growth of African young economies like that of my Country, the Republic of South Sudan.”

The Programme Manager of the Agriculture & Food Security Unit at IGAD Secretariat, Dr Mohyeldeen El-Taha, also took the floor to say: “IGAD has signed a project for enhancing Blue Economy in the IGAD member states for biodiversity conservations and livelihood diversification aimed at promoting Blue Economy with funding from Sweden”. He also added that IGAD plays the central coordination role in the implementation of this project.

The Head of Regional Development Cooperation for Africa at the Embassy of Sweden in Ethiopia, Ms. Ulla Andrén, said: “For many reasons, sustainable management and utilization of both marine and inland water bodies through an integrated Blue Economy approach is the way to go. The importance of sustainable Blue Economy in contributing to food security and as an avenue for conflict reduction on the resource cannot be over emphasised.”

This IGAD Blue Economy Project’s Steering Committee which is meeting for the first time, attained the below objectives:

Shared progress of BE in respective member states;

Reviewed and adapted the draft Terms of reference (ToR) for the Steering Committee;

Raised awareness among IGAD Member States on the Project;

Disseminated information on status of project implementation, including progress on implementation of activities and challenges encountered;

Share information on planned and ongoing activities related to BE by relevant stakeholders; and

Developed recommendations for strategic direction of the project.

The Steering Committee will meet once a year and provide overall advice, ensure delivery of the project outputs and gauge progress in achievement of project outcomes.

The participants of the meeting also took the time today for a field visit to Gabaat Fishing Port on Nile River in Juba, the Juba Port and the Fish Market to consult with the fishing communities.

BACKGROUND

IGAD Regional Blue Economy Strategy was unanimously endorsed by the IGAD MS Ministers responsible on coordinating Blue Economy (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda) on April 1, 2022 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The IGAD Blue Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan intend to structure the Blue Economy implementation at both national and regional levels while increasing cooperation and regional integration, and strengthening support to the member states to effectively translate policies into concrete actions.

It will also contribute to the effective implementation of the Africa Blue Economy Strategy (and its up-coming Action Plan). More specifically, the IGAD Blue Economy Strategy aims to:

improve the implementation of the BE in all IGAD members States;

contribute to the implementation of the Africa Blue Economy Strategy;

develop strong harmonizing regional BE initiatives; and

increase cooperation and regional integration by using the BE as a catalyst to stimulate a converging dynamic of interests and efforts.

Source: Intergovernmental Authority on Development

A new U.N. report finds agricultural automation can boost global food production and be a boon for small-scale farmers in developing countries.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, has just released The State of Food and Agriculture 2022 report. The report’s authors said automation is rapidly changing the face of agriculture. New technologies, they say, are quickly leaving behind some of the old larger-type tractors and large machinery in ways that could benefit small holders in developing countries.

Parallels can be drawn with the introduction of cellphones. The World Bank, among other observers, notes African and other developing countries can harness digital technologies to boost their economies by advancing from landlines to smartphones.

FAO said automation can play an important role in making food production more efficient and more environmentally friendly.

Chief FAO economist Maximo Torero said many emerging technologies would have been unimaginable years ago. He cited as examples fruit-picking robots that use artificial intelligence and sensors that monitor plants and animals.

“Automation allows agriculture to be more productive, efficient, resilient, and sustainable and can improve working conditions,” Torero said. “However, as with any technological change, automation also implies disruption to the agricultural systems. The risk is that the automation could exacerbate inequalities if we are not careful on how it is being done and developed and deployed.”

The report looks at 27 case studies from all over the world. They represent technologies at different stages of readiness suitable for large or small agricultural producers of varying levels of income.

Torero said the report investigates the drivers of these technologies and identifies barriers preventing their adoption, particularly by small-scale producers. The report, he said, also looks at one of the most common concerns about automation — that it creates unemployment.

“While it concludes that such fears are overblown, it acknowledges that agricultural automation can lead to unemployment in places where rural labor is abundant, and wages are low,” he said. “It is important to understand that in a continent like sub-Saharan Africa, where there is an enormous amount of youth population, we can build the skill sets of these people to be able to have access to these technologies.”

In areas where cheap labor is abundant, the FAO urges policymakers to avoid subsidizing automation while creating an enabling environment for its adoption. At the same time, the report said governments should provide social protection to the least skilled workers who are likely to lose their jobs during the transition.

Source: Voice of America

KUALA LUMPUR,— Algeria and Malaysia have made significant progress in their bilateral ties in recent years and efforts are being made to boost cooperation and explore investments opportunities between the two countries, said Algeria’s ambassador to Malaysia, Saad Maandi.

Maandi said potential exists in the areas of energy, mines, industry, trade, small and medium enterprises, tourism, air services, maritime transport, fishing and aquaculture as well as cooperation in the area of modernisation of public administration,

“I would like to underscore our real desire to develop and reinforce even more the bilateral cooperation in both the economic and commercial areas and to elevate them to higher level to meet the ambitions of our leaders to make the relations between Algeria and Malaysia stronger and our cooperation truly fruitful,” he told Bernama in an interview.

In this regard, the ambassador said consideration of many draft agreements is underway between Algiers and Kuala Lumpur, adding that their finalisation and signing will pave the way for very intense bilateral cooperation for the benefit of the brotherly peoples of both countries.

In this regard, Maandi stressed the need to reactivate the mechanisms of bilateral partnership including, in particular, the Algerian Malaysian Joint Commission under the presidency of the heads of diplomacy of the two countries.

Maandi said two draft agreements are being considered by both sides – one on the promotion of foreign trade between Algeria’s National Agency for the Promotion of Foreign Trade (ALGEX) and the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), and one between the Algerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACI) and the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (NCCIM).

The Algerian ambassador encouraged the creation of the Algerian Malaysian Business Council, which he said can provide an appropriate framework for the business communities of the two countries to identify and explore opportunities for trade and investments.

Maandi explained that the Algerian new investment law, approved recently by the government, which aims at attracting foreign investors and improving its business climate, would certainly encourage Malaysian investors to look for investment opportunities and do business in Algeria.

He pointed out that it is essential to encourage both business communities and valuable stakeholders to meet regularly in order to identify and exploit new business opportunities and create partnerships.

“Indubitably, exchange of visits of high officials and the meeting of the mechanism already in place, too, will keenly contribute to raise our partnership up to a higher level,” he further said.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK