Category: Uncategorized

The African Energy Week (AEW) (www.AECWeek.com) 2022 conference and exhibition – Africa’s premier event for the oil and gas sector which will be taking place from October 18-21 this year in Cape Town – will serve to drive long-term energy investment in Africa with the aim of ushering in a new era of socioeconomic growth. In line with this objective, and as a facilitator of improved local and foreign direct investment in Namibia, the Namibian Investment Promotion Development Board (NIPDB) will be participating as a diamond sponsor at this year’s edition of the AEW conference.

Representing one of Africa’s fastest growing energy markets, the NIPDB’s presence and participation as a diamond sponsor at Africa’s biggest event for the energy sector will be crucial for shaping dialogue around current investment trends as well as the challenges and opportunities present across both Namibia’s and the continent’s energy sector.

The discovery of sizable oil and gas reserves by TotalEnergies at the Venus 1-X well; and Shell and Qatar Energy at the Graff-1 well in early 2022 – as part of a massive exploration campaign launched by the Namibian government to maximize the exploitation of local energy resources to meet local and regional energy needs – has opened up significant opportunities across the entire energy value chain in Namibia. In addition to realizing the potential of the country’s oil and gas prospects, the discoveries, along with the country’s favorable investment climate, have positioned Namibia as lucrative investment destination in 2022 and beyond.

Moreover, with major players expanding upstream investments across Namibia’s untapped hydrocarbons-rich basins – in search of similar discoveries made at Venus and Graff-1 – massive investment opportunities remain across exploration and production landscapes. By shaping critical conversations in keynote addresses and networking forums, NIPDB will highlight these opportunities to regional, continental and international energy stakeholders and investors whilst promoting the role the country’s oil and gas will play in making energy poverty history across the continent by 2030. For Namibia, the discoveries promise a new era of economic growth on the back of oil and gas while for Africa, new supply streams at a time when the continent desperately requires new sources of energy. 

Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, had the pleasure of being joined by the Executive Deputy Mayor for Overstrand Municipality, Lindile Ntsabo, for a tour of the Old Harbour Museum, some whale spotting with the world-famous Whale Crier and a walk along the cliff path to look at the art installations, in Hermanus.

“The Old Harbour Museum is a treasure trove of wonderful facts and interactive exhibits about whales. The Museum was assisted with funding from the Department of Economic development and Tourism to upgrade exhibitions which include a whale sound exhibit, a submarine exhibit, information panels, a “build a whale” puzzle as well as whale video games.” Said Minister Wenger.

Mr Brendell Adams of the Old Harbour Museum said: “The Museum is at the historic heart of the village overlooking Walker Bay. This is part of the Cape Whale Coast Hope Spot which stretches 200kms from Rooi Els to Quoin Point and is recognised for its incredibly vibrant and visible whale visits. The museum offers family friendly experiences to ensure Hermanus and the Overstrand remain a world class and competitive option for travellers. No less than five blue flag beaches are dotted along this stretch of pristine coastline. Where else can you observe the Southern Right Whales so closely? No wonder that Hermanus is famed as the best land-based whale watching in the world.” 

It is a Wednesday morning at the Kuisebmund Health Centre and Shirleyn Awases is among the 20 women seeking antenatal care services at the facility.  

The 31-year recently had a miscarriage and not long before that she delivered a stillborn baby. This time around, the mother of a 10 -year is expecting yet another baby. 

And, while she is nervous about what could go wrong, Awases is also hopeful that with the recently donated ultrasound machine to the Kuisebmund Health Centre, the doctor would be able to better detect any abnormalities during her pregnancy with this technology.  

The World Health Organisation (WHO) with financial support amounting to US$ 270 000 (approximately N$ 4,579,200) from the government of Japan donated a sonar to the Kuisebmund Health Centre in March this year (2022). 

The support is aimed at strengthening maternal and child health services in Namibia. The Kuisebmund Health Centre is one of 16 district health facilities that benefited from the WHO and government of Japan support. 

“We’ve realized that we needed additional support in terms of ultrasound machines which helps with early detection of the growth and development of the baby in the mother’s womb and if there are any problems they can be picked up early,” said the WHO Representative, Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses. 

SGA Group has partnered with PAIX Data Centres in Nairobi to offer increased data protection for their customers.

PAIX Data Centres is the African specialist in cloud- and carrier-neutral data centres, whilst SGA Group is East Africa’s leading security company.

SGA manages the physical security for PAIX Data Centres in Kenya. SGA is one of the few ISO18788 certified Security Solutions Providers in Kenya and supports PAIX with 24/7 physical security and monitoring of its Nairobi Data Centre with their specific accesses, systems, and processes such as check-in-out, patrols and CCTV surveillance.

In its world-class data centre operations, PAIX protects customer critical equipment with the highest levels of security and operational reliability. PAIX Data Centres are all certified with the international standards for Information Security (ISO 27001), Business Continuity (ISO 2230), and the banking standard for cardholder information security (PCI DSS).

PAIX delivers 99.999% uptime for its customer’s computer equipment, including SGA’s own servers. The world-class data centre infrastructure provided by PAIX allows SGA to monitor the clients they serve and to respond to emergency calls in record time. It also ensures improved accuracy in SGA’s tracking, crime mapping, and intelligence gathering.

The partnership between SGA and PAIX comes at a time when data protection and privacy is a global concern, with organizations working to ensure they have a data protection framework that will promote consumer trust and ultimately lead to the efficiency and reliability of the organization. 

Kenya has adopted the Data Protection Act in 2019 to ensure the privacy and safety of client data.

Quotes:

    “In today’s world where data protection is a key concern to everyone, we are constantly working to ensure that our operational data and the privacy of our customers’ data is fully protected. This partnership will enhance this security as PAIX run their data centre services from a very safe location in Kenya. With 99,999% uptime, they assure our clients of reliable services”, said SGA Group Chairman and CEO Jules Delahaije.

    “Thanks to our partnership with SGA Group, the physical security of our facilities is guaranteed. Together we ensure that our demanding customers can entrust their computer equipment housing to a data centre operated with world class standards, with a guaranteed Service Level.” said Vincent Camadro, Country Manager Kenya of PAIX Data Centres.

South Sudan launched the Pharmaceutical Policy and Strategy.

The 2022 Pharmaceutical Policy and Strategy provides an overall framework for governance, regulation and programming within the health sector which has been lacking since 2006.

The Pharmaceutical Policy and Strategy was developed by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the World Health Organization to strengthen the pharmaceutical sector in South Sudan.   

It lays the foundation for building systems for sustainable access to pharmaceuticals and related health technologies. It prioritizes the medium- to long-term goals and strategies set by the government for the pharmaceutical sector.  

Access to medicines is a critical component of healthcare delivery system. Hence, promoting sustainable and equitable access to medicines is the core mandate of the Ministry of Health.

In the WHO African Region, it is estimated that about 58% of the population do not have access to medicines for non-communicable diseases.

In South Sudan, access to essential medicines is a huge challenge. According to the 2018 Service Availability and Readiness Assessment Report, only 14% of health facilities had the recommended medicines.   

“Universal Health Coverage can’t be achieved without access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines”, said Dr Victoria Anib Majur, the Undersecretary at the Ministry of Health South Sudan. “It’s important to have a strong regulatory body to ensure that we are regulating the medicines coming to the country”.

As much as we develop strategies and policies, implementation is more important. Dr Anib urged the Directorate to form a committee to implement the strategy. She acknowledged WHO’s continued support in developing policies and strategies for effective healthcare services.

“Access to medicines is a human right issue”, said Dr Fabian Ndenzako, WHO Representative a.i. in South Sudan. “Thanks to the generous contribution of the Canadian Government, WHO supported the Ministry of Health to develop the pharmacy policy and strategic plan for South Sudan that promotes equity and sustainability of the pharmaceutical sector”.

WHO is committed to support the Ministry of Health to enhance access to medicines as part of the efforts to build resilient health systems and achieving Universal Health Coverage and the health-related Sustainable Development Goals.

The Pharmacy Strategy is a 5 -year plan that is aligned with the Health Sector Strategic Plan.

The policy sets the standards for the safe, modern practice of pharmacy in while building community confidence and providing high quality, innovative services for patients that enhance patient care and public health.

Kenya’s number one retail chain, Naivas Supermarket opened its 4th store in Eldoret town.
The new store will be the retailers 85th store in the country.

The outlet covering 39,999 square feet of trading space is located along Stendi Kisa-Yala Road at Elgon View Mall in Elgon View Estate, a suburb in Eldoret.

Willy Kimani, Naivas Chief Commercial Officer said that Naivas was very delighted to be making a grand return to the city of champions.

Kimani said that Eldoret has seen the success of three of
outlets; Referral, Sokoni and the year old, Zion Mall.

“This opening was motivated by the need to continually offer shoppers an
experience that compliments their lives by being a one stop premium shop. Our greatest pride and joy is that with every support accorded to us as a brand, we get to grow our contribution to the
Kenyan economy by supporting industries, farmers and creating jobs both directly and indirectly,”
said Willy Kimani, Naivas Chief Commercial Officer.

The President of the Republic, Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan will be among the Heads of State to attend the Swearing-In ceremony of H.E. William Samoei Ruto, EGH, PhD., Deputy President and President-Elect as the fifth President of the Republic of Kenya.

Through the official invitation extended to President Ramkalawan, the ceremony will take place on Tuesday 12th September 2022 at Moi International Sports Complex Karasani where he will also be attending an inauguration luncheon thereafter at State House.

The President will depart the country on Monday 12th and will be back on Tuesday 13th September 2022.

During President Ramkalawan’s absence from the country, his duties and responsibilities will be discharged by Vice-President Ahmed Afif. 

The United States and Ethiopia enjoy longstanding cultural, economic, and diplomatic ties, dating back over a century.  Our strong relationship is based on shared values and interests that continue to connect us.

As 2014 comes to a close, we welcome the Ethiopian New Year with hope and optimism to make the coming year better.  We remain committed to our partnership and to supporting Ethiopia’s path towards peace and unity.  We look forward to working with you to address the challenges ahead.

May the New Year bring peace, harmony, and prosperity to Ethiopians here and around the world. 

Melkam Addis Amet! Happy New Year.

Globally, women and girls shoulder a disproportionate share of care work that is unpaid, unrecognized, and undervalued. According to a recent baseline study by UN Women Rwanda on unpaid care work in eight districts, on average women work for around 4.1 hours per day compared to men who on average do approximately 1.7 hours on unpaid care and domestic work, particularly those in areas with limited access to regular basic services such as energy, water, and sanitation.

According to the study, major burden for rural women represents finding firewood and cooking. One solution is a stove known as Save80, that saves up to 80% more energy than the normal charcoal stoves using small wood sticks as fuel for cooking.

Care work relies on the responsibilities of women in the households and hinders them from working to their full potential.

To reduce the care demands on women, UN Women Rwanda distributed energy efficient kits to over 300 households from Nyange, Rwaza, Kimonyi, Muko and Kinigi sectors in Musanze District and 472 households in Rubavu. This was made possible through the UN Women’s 3R (Recognize, Reduce, and Redistribute) project on unpaid care work in partnership with Rwanda Development Organisation (RDO), and Institut Africain pour le Development Economique et Social (INADES).  

The kits worth 40,000,000 Rwandan francs ($40,000) included improved cooking stoves, heat retention cookers, a food flask known as the ‘wonderbox’ that keeps the food warm all day, sprayers, water tanks, harvesting crates, and motorcycles  and were distributed among  472 cooperative members in Rubavu District and 300 members in Musanze. The trimotor cycles will help to transport vegetable productions from farm to market and ultimately reduce domestic care work, conserve natural resources, and save cooking time for women who were already spending a lot of time doing household chores.

UN Women Rwanda Country Representative, Ms. Jennet Kem appreciated UN Women partners in Rwanda and the Government of Rwanda for their unwavering support.

Up to 1.5 million children in Somalia – or one in five – could face deadly forms of malnutrition by October without immediate action, Save the Children said today as the international community issued a final warning about the country being on the brink of famine.

A new UN statement released on Monday said agricultural communities and displaced people in three areas of the Bay region of southwest Somalia, including Baidoa and Burhakaba districts, could face famine between October and December without significant humanitarian assistance reaching those most in need as Somalia faces its worst drought in 40 years. The UN projected up to 1.5 million children could be facing severe acute malnutrition by October.

Save the Children – along with other NGOs and UN agencies – has been alerting donors and governments to the worsening crisis in the Horn of Africa for more than a year, with Somalia crippled by four consecutive failed rainy seasons and forecasts poor for October-December rains. A failed fifth rainy season would be unprecedented.

The projection of famine in the Bay region – where thousands of lives were lost in the last famine in Somalia in 2011 that claimed 260,000 lives, half aged under 5 – is based largely on currently available information that minimal assistance will be distributed in those areas in November and December due to funding constraints.

For months, Save the Children has warned of hospitals being overwhelmed by a surge on severely malnourished children with beds full and wards at breaking point as drought in East Africa decimates people’s ability to raise livestock or grow crops and the war in Ukraine drives up food prices, making staples unaffordable for many dependent on imported grain.

Early warning alerts were initially largely overlooked although a rapid scale-up of humanitarian assistance since the start of 2022 has undoubtedly saved many lives. But these activities have nowhere near reached the scale needed and US$1.5 billion is needed to give vulnerable children and their families the food, healthcare, education and water they need to survive.