September 28, 2024
Leaders from Africa convening on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), have called for concerted effort against a “Perfect Storm” of converging crises threatening to derail decades of progress in the fight against malaria in Africa. This high-level fireside chat, hosted by the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), emphasized the urgent need for an accelerated effort to overcome these challenges and accelerate towards malaria elimination.
The leaders identified key challenges contributing to this perfect storm, including significant financial shortfalls, the impact of climate change, the growing resistance to insecticides and antimalarials. And with climate-induced disasters leading to increased flooding and malaria upsurges. If malaria resources continue to stagnate between 2027 and 2029, there will be an estimated additional 112 million malaria cases and up to 280,700 more deaths.
“This financial gap poses a grave threat, and if these gaps are not filled, we risk seeing a significant increase in malaria deaths” said President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, the outgoing chair of ALMA.
Furthermore, the leaders noted the importance of a successful Global Fund replenishment in 2025, and the continued prioritization of malaria financing within global fund programs, to avoid even bigger malaria upsurges. They emphasized the need for a multi-sectoral approach, including collaborations with sectors like agriculture, environment, mining, and tourism, for successful malaria elimination, pandemic preparedness and response.
“To secure USD 6.3 billion annually to achieve malaria elimination, accelerated action is necessary. This involves increasing domestic resource commitments, finding new partners, and integrating malaria efforts with broader initiatives such as combating climate change, strengthening health systems, expanding primary health care, and enhancing pandemic preparedness,” said Abderaman Koulamallah, Minister of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration, Republic of Chad.
The leaders highlighted the importance of embracing innovative financing mechanisms, including tapping into the private sector and enhancing public-private partnerships. The launch of multisectoral, high-level National End Malaria and NTD Councils and Funds has already mobilized over USD 72 million, particularly from the local private sector. These councils have facilitated national and community advocacy campaigns while keeping malaria and NTDs at the forefront of national development and financing agendas.
AU Member States were urged to prioritize health, with malaria serving as a pathfinder in securing World Bank International Development Association (IDA) funding to close immediate gaps. The leaders called for strong advocacy for sufficient global replenishments for IDA, Gavi, and the Global Fund.
The session also called for strategic information to guide decisions and the adoption of accountability mechanisms, including through the use of scorecards, should be established to ensure that every dollar is spent effectively for maximum impact, reaching the communities most in need.
“Our efforts are not just about addressing malaria; they are about safeguarding the health and future of our entire continent. Ending this killer disease, alongside progress toward the HIV/AIDS and TB targets outlined in the Catalytic Framework to End AIDS, TB, and Eliminate Malaria in Africa by 2030, will lay the foundation for reducing Africa’s health burden and further propel the achievement of universal health goals,” said Minata Samate Cessouma (Amb.), the African Union Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs, and Social Development.
(APO Group)
Ethio Telecom begins copper switch-off initiative, to Migrate 100K customers to fiber
Ethio Telecom has officially launched a nationwide copper-to-fiber network switch-off initiative. This initiative marks a significant advancement in the operator’s telecom infrastructure, enabling them to provide customers with significantly faster speeds and an overall superior quality telecom services far better than the copper network.
This milestone project will allow fixed telecom service customers to easily switch off from the existing copper network to the superior service capacity fiber network free of charge. The initiative will benefit a total of 100,000 customers (60,000 customers in Addis Ababa and 40,000 in regional cities); and in the first phase it will enable 31,000 customers to migrate their copper network to fiber network.
The operator has also planned to migrate 10,000 customers from the copper to the new fiber network in the areas where the Addis Ababa corridor development and renovation projects are being undertaken.
Ethio Telecom has invested heavily in this large-scale fiber network expansion infrastructure initiative and empower customers to migrate their services to a high-capacity fiber network with no additional cost.
The deployment of the fiber network will sustainably address the existing copper infrastructure’s challenges to access new telecom and digital services at required speed and quality, especially to access the upcoming services that require high speed data transmission capacity with ultra-low latency.
The current plan is to fully migrate Addis Ababa’s copper network to fiber network within the coming three years, the major regional cities within the next five subsequent years and finally the remaining urban centers and districts.
(TheFastMode)
EU regulation would significantly reduce Ethiopia’s growth–Study
European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) would significantly reduce Ethiopia’s both exports and imports, along with a decrease in government revenue, a study by Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has revealed.
– Advertisement –
ODI, a prominent global affairs think tank based in London, in its recent study forecasts that the EUDR, set to take effect on 30 December, 2024, will have significant economic repercussions for Ethiopia.
The study, titled “Avoiding a Green Squeeze”: Surrounding Least Developed Countries in Navigating New Greening Trade Measures” revealed that in the most severe scenario—a complete halt of exports to the European Union—Ethiopia could face a notable economic downturn.
Specifically, the country might experience an 18.4% decline in total exports, a 5.8% decrease in imports, a 3.3 percent loss in public revenue, and a 0.6 percent reduction in GDP.
As noted by the study’s authors, “such a scenario would likely exacerbate poverty and inequality within Ethiopia, hindering its progress toward achieving its development objectives.”
The ODI emphasises that while the global pursuit of a more sustainable future is commendable, it is fundamentally reshaping international trade dynamics and presenting new challenges for developing economies such as Ethiopia.
The organisation cautions against a potential “green squeeze” on the world’s most vulnerable nations, where well-intentioned climate-related trade policies may inadvertently impede their economic development.
The European Union constitutes a significant market for Ethiopian coffee, absorbing over a third of the annual shipments sent abroad.
However, the ODI emphasises that novel regulations, such as the EUDR, may lead to substantial disruptions within supply chains.
(APA NEWS)
Chinese FM calls on China, Ethiopia to lift all-round cooperation to new level
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi here on Monday called on China and Ethiopia to lift bilateral cooperation in various fields to a new level.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during talks with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Taye Atske Selassie.
China and Ethiopia, Wang said, are all-weather strategic partners, and bilateral ties have always been at the forefront of China’s cooperation with Africa.
He urged the two sides to follow the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and seize the chance of implementing the outcomes of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation to lift cooperation in various fields to a new level.
As major developing countries and important members of the “Global South,” both China and Ethiopia have the unwavering commitment of defying hegemony and upholding justice, he said, urging the two sides to strengthen coordination and cooperation in international and regional affairs and make greater contribution to world peace and development.
For his part, Taye hailed the just-concluded FOCAC summit in Beijing as the most fruitful summit ever and an important milestone in the history of China-Africa relations.
Ethiopia prizes its relations with China, and firmly pursues the one-China policy, he said, adding that his country looks forward to expanding cooperation in various fields and achieving more results.
In international and regional affairs, Ethiopia is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China, jointly oppose unilateralism and hegemonism, and safeguard international fairness and justice, he said.
(Xinhua)
Ethiopia’s Tea Exports Increase
Ethiopia’s tea industry has experienced a growth spurt in the 2023/24 fiscal year, with exports exceeding 1,142 tons and generating over USD 2 million in revenue. This represents a substantial increase of 292 tons compared to the previous year.
The Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA) hailed the achievement but underscored that the sector’s full potential remains untapped. Despite exporting 50,000 tons of tealeaf annually, the industry could achieve much more with increased investment.
To boost production, 460 million tea saplings were planted across 30,000 hectares in the 2023/24 fiscal year. However, ECTA’s Communication Director, Sahlemariam Gebremedin, noted that low investor participation is a major obstacle to realizing the industry’s full potential.
(2Merkato)