Burundi’s foreign affairs minister officially declared that the border between the East African country and Rwanda has been reopened.
“All the borders of Burundi with its neighboring countries are open”, the ministry tweeted without much detail on October 22.
On October 25, minister Albert Shingiro confirmed in a press conference the border reopening with Rwanda.
He also indicated that Burundi maintained its position of calling on Kigali to return coup-plotters it alleges fled there after trying to overthrow former President Pierre Nkurunziza in 2015.
The border between Burundi and Rwanda had been closed for almost six years, first amid political tensions and then by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rwanda for its part reopened its border with Burundi several months ago.
The border reopening comes after President Ruto William of Kenya urged his East African Community (EAC) partner states to knock off barriers that impede trade across the bloc.
What: Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program Partnerships Forum
Who: African Development Bank and the Global Center on Adaptation
When: 27 October 2022, 15:00 GMT+2
Where: Windhoek, Namibia (Hybrid format)
The African Development Bank and the Global Center on Adaptation, with the support of partners are convening the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) Partnerships Forum at the 10th Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa. This will take place on 27th October 2022 in Windhoek, Namibia.
The Forum invites partners to showcase their adaptation work in Africa, align and seek opportunities for scaling up their activity, and raise awareness of relevant initiatives being implemented, connected to the four thematic pillars of the AAAP.
The Forum, to be organized in hybrid format, is designed as an interactive dialogue with participants from public institutions, regional and international organizations, financial institutions, research institutions and academia. The private sector, non-governmental organizations, civil society, and young people will also be represented.
The Forum will provide opportunities for new connections and inputs. It also aims to learn from partners, share innovative approaches and provide an update on AAAP programs and projects.
The African Development Bank undertook the report to provide “quantifiable evidence on the linkages between the three areas and to lay the foundation for further dialogue on financing peace and security in Africa.” The report emphasizes the need to scale-up and coordinate peace-positive investments on the continent, to free-up public and private investment into social and productive sectors, and underlines the need for both security and development as cornerstones of progress for the continent.
Making opening remarks on behalf of the African Development Bank Group head Akinwumi Adesina, Hassatou Diop N’Sele, Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer, stated: “The economic and security shocks experienced by Africa over the last few years have been devastating, both in their reach and their repercussions. If there was ever a time to reaffirm the relevance and critical role of security and its interrelation with development, that time is now.”
N’Sele, emphasized that military spending across the continent, “in response to rising insecurity, is displacing valuable development budgets and undermining our efforts to attain the UN-SDGs, Agenda 2063 and the Bank’s High 5 priorities.” She expressed concern over the rising incidence of conflict and insecurity, and challenged the development community to explore innovative and coordinated solutions to address threats to the continent’s development gains and livelihoods.
The report highlights several significant issues such as:
Insecurity on the rise: The report finds that incidences of conflict and violence are on the rise in Africa. In the last twenty years, more than 469,000 people lost their lives due to conflicts and human insecurity. In 2021, more than 18,000 conflicts affected the continent and the number of refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) reached 32 million.
Government response; implication for development budgets: Governments are responding to insecurity by increasing budgetary allocation to security spending. Military expenditure in Africa was an estimated US$39 billion in 2021[based on data from 48 countries], 7 percent higher than in 2018 and 16 percent higher than in 2011. Over the past decade, the biggest percentage increases in military expenditure occurred in the Sahel countries of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Countries with large development needs are allocating a large share of their GDPs to military expenditure, undermining prospects for attaining the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the targets of Agenda 2063.
Fiscal implications of multiple crisis: Many countries are faced with multiple crisis imposed by conflict, climate change, and COVID-19. These countries are dealing with recurrent public financing deficit, ballooning debt levels and limited private capital to bridge their domestic financing needs. The dilemma of allocating scarce resources to mitigate against these crises is putting immense pressures on fiscal balances, threatening debt sustainability, and adversely affecting people and livelihoods.
Spillover risks: The report presents the risks of cross-border spill overs both in terms of conflict and their consequences. Fourteen African countries that have a current conflict situation share 80 land borders with other African countries. Due to these spill-over risks, conflict in a few African countries undermines the continent’s competitiveness as a destination for trade and investment.
Inadequate resources and uncoordinated approaches: While development partners present opportunities for building peace in the continent, the lack of a coherent strategy and limitations in both resource availability and their predictability have constrained progress and sustainability.
Findings of the study are already informing the Bank’s engagements with the African Union, member countries of the Bank Group, development partners and other key stakeholder, to explore the Security-Indexed Investment Bonds (“SIIBs”) initiative. The initiative plans to mobilize adequate scalable, adaptable, and flexible resources to effectively address the root causes of insecurity, enhance the capacity of formal institutions, build communities’ resilience, and rehabilitate communities and infrastructure adversely impacted by insecurity.
The report will complement the Bank’s engagements in fragile and conflict affected situations and the work of African Union’s Peace and Security Architecture.
“The African Development Bank Group remains committed to working with the African Union, the Regional Economic Communities, development partners, governments, the private sector and civil society organizations to mobilize the resources needed to help address Africa’s development and regional integration challenges,” N’Sele said.
Today WHO launches the WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety 2022-2030, adopted by Member States at the 75th Session of the World Health Assembly – Resolution WHA75(22). The launch marks a milestone in WHO work to promote health, keep the world safe and protect the vulnerable.
Every year, one in ten people globally fall ill due to foodborne diseases. Contaminated food can cause over 200 diseases, and the magnitude of public health burden is comparable to malaria or HIV AIDS. Children under five are at higher risk, as one in six deaths from diarrhoea are caused by unsafe food.
The updated WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety is a step towards a safer and healthier world, but also towards strengthening multisectoral collaboration and innovative public health approaches. The Global Food Safety Strategy has been developed to guide and support Member States in their efforts to prioritize, plan, implement, monitor and regularly evaluate actions towards the reduction of the burden of foodborne diseases (FBD) by continuously strengthening food safety systems and promoting global cooperation.
The Strategy’s vision is that all people, everywhere, consume safe and healthy food so as to reduce the burden of FBDs. This strategy gives stakeholders the tools they need to strengthen their national food safety systems and collaborate with partners around the world.
This new WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety 2022-2030 addresses current and emerging challenges, incorporates new technologies and includes innovative approaches for strengthening food safety systems. It also reflects feedback received through a comprehensive consultation process with Member States and governmental institutions, United Nations agencies and other intergovernmental organizations, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, private sector entities, and individuals working in public health and food safety.
The strategy also sets concrete targets and aims to reduce the burden of foodborne diseases by reducing 40% the number of cases of foodborne diarrheal diseases incidence that affects most the children under 5 and other vulnerable populations. It also has a target of 100% of functional coordination mechanisms to manage foodborne events and enhanced laboratory capacity for foodborne disease surveillance.
The strategy has identified five interlinked and mutually reinforcing strategic priorities with respective strategic objectives. Using the identified five strategic priorities and respective strategic objectives, the strategy aims to build proactive, forward-looking, evidence-based, people-centred, and cost-effective food safety systems with coordinated governance and adequate infrastructures.
Strategic priorities:
Strengthening national food control systems.
Identifying and responding to food safety challenges resulting from global changes and food systems transformation.
Improving the use of food chain information, scientific evidence and risk assessment in making risk management decisions.
Strengthening stakeholder engagement and risk communication.
Promoting food safety as an essential component in domestic, regional and international food trade.
WHO and the members of the Technical Advisory Group on Food Safety are working on tools to complement the existing sources from WHO, FAO and other organizations to support Member States in the implementation of the strategy over 2022-2030. The collaboration among different sectors and stakeholders is key for the implementation of the strategy, and the implementation plan of the strategy is aligned with the FAO food safety strategic priorities through a joint coordination framework.
Background
In 2020, the Resolution 73.5 titled ‘‘Strengthening efforts on food safety’’ was adopted by the Seventy-third World Health Assembly. In the resolution, Member States requested WHO to update the WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety to address current and emerging challenges, incorporate new technologies and include innovative approaches for strengthening food safety systems.
In response to this request, the WHO Secretariat has prepared a WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety with the advice of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Food Safety: Safer food for better health. The current strategy reflects feedback received through a comprehensive consultation process with Member States and governmental institutions, United Nations agencies and other intergovernmental organizations, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, private sector entities, and individuals working in public health and food safety.
WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety 2022-2030, adopted by Resolution 75(22) during the 75th World Health Assembly, is available here.
For more information about the strategy, join the launch webinar on October 17 at 12:00 CET. Register here.
DHAKA-(MaraviPost)-At least 28 people have died and millions left without power after Cyclone Sitrang ravaged southern Bangladesh.
The government officials confirmed the toll in a statement adding that nearly 10,000 tin-roofed homes were destroyed.
The Cyclone Sitrang made landfall in southern Bangladesh on Monday with winds of 80kmh, leaving behind a trail of devastation in the country’s densely populated low-lying coastal regions which is home to tens of millions of people.
According to CNA, among the victims were four crew of a dredger boat that sank during the storm in the Bay of Bengal who were discovered by Fire department divers.
Other reports indicated that trees were uprooted as far away as the capital Dhaka, hundreds of kilometres from the storm’s centre and nearly five million people were still without power on Wednesday.
Despite the damage, authorities revealed that they managed to get about a million people to safety before the monster storm hit the affected areas.
Cyclones equivalent to hurricanes in the Atlantic or typhoons in the Pacific are a regular menace in the region, however scientists say climate change is likely making them more intense and frequent.
Cyclones are common in Bangladesh. Among them, the 1970 Bhola cyclone alone claimed approximately 300,000 to 500,000 lives, making it the deadliest tropical cyclone on record.
BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-One of the country’s Indian businessman Riaz Jakhura is being treated with kid gloves following the court’s decision to denying the state’s warrant of arrest on him.
This comes as Blantyre Principal Resident Magistrate Court on Monday, October 24, 2022 dismissed an application by the State for a warrant of arrest against Jakhura.
Jakhura has severally disobeyed court summons to take plea.
According to the criminal case no. 454 of 2022, Riaz Jakhura, owner of Speedy’s Limited, Bashir Osman Adams, who is owner of Adams Car Hire Limited, the General Manager for Speedy’s Limited, Jayaraj Gobalan, and Financial Controller, Priyal Fernando have been charged with four (4) counts – criminal trespass, intimidation, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and theft of motor vehicle.
This publication understands that on December 24, 2021, Jakhura and his alleged accomplices allegedly stormed into a private residence of Mahmood Chaudhry at Mount Pleasant in Blantyre where they demanded a Mercedes Benz vehicle that he (Jakhura) had allegedly imported from the United Kingdom on behalf Chaudhry.
The vehicle was worth over K60 million and Chaudhry paid the price and attendant payments to Jakhura. But after some days, it is alleged that Jakhura brought up extra bills and when Chaudhry demanded a valid explanation, Jakhura threatened to confiscate the car from him although the car had already been registered in Chaudhry’s name.
When Chaudhry refused to surrender the car, Jakhura and his friends allegedly physically attacked him and later sped away with the vehicle using a duplicate key.
Blantyre Police however arrested the three other suspects and kept them at Chilomoni Police Station before they were released on bail by the Mbulumbuzi Magistrate’s Court on January 9, 2022. By the time of the arrests, Jakhura had allegedly ‘fled’ to the United Kingdom.
But since the case was filed in court, only the three accused persons have appeared and taken pleas.
They have pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Jakhura has never appeared in court for plea taking, despite several adjournments.
A fortnight ago, State Prosecutor, Superintendent Damian Kaputa, applied for a Warrant of Arrest in respect of the first accused person.
Kaputa argued that he (Jakhura) is deliberately evading his trial by bringing excuses whenever the date is set for the case.
Defence Counsel, Lusungu Gondwe argued that the application made by the State lacked substance as it is not backed by law. He said no authority has been provided from which the application is made.
However, even after agreeing with the State on certain aspects of the law that were in favour of a Warrant of Arrest, Principal Resident Magistrate Godfrey Balaka said in his ruling he was not granting the State the nod.
“We have looked at the circumstances surrounding this case. We have also considered the arguments made for and against in this application.
It is the considered view of this court that we give the defence a benefit of doubt by not issuing a warrant of arrest against the first accused person.
“However, the same should be a warning to him that if the summons are again disobeyed, a warrant of his arrest shall be issued. With the above discussion, the application to issue a warrant of arrest is denied,” ruled the Principal Resident Magistrate Balaka on Monday.
Jakhura, who is said to be in Dubai, is expected to return to Malawi on November 9, 2022.
But a Lilongwe-based legal expert, who preferred anonymity, told this publication it could be an understatement to suggest that the court is treating Jakhura with ‘kid gloves’.
“The law is very clear that if you disobey court summons, several times, you are in contempt of court and you ought to be arrested,” he said, adding that refusal by the court to issue a warrant of arrest for Jakhura may be deemed as ‘selective justice’ owing to Jakhura’s high standing in society.
Section 84 (I ) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code gives mandate to the court to issue summons or warrant to compel the attendance of the accused person.
It provides: “Upon a formal charge having been completed in accordance with section 83, the magistrate may, in his discretion, issue either a summons or a warrant to compel the attendance of the accused before a subordinate court having jurisdiction to inquire into or try the offence alleged to have been committed.”
According to Principal Magistrate Balaka, this section gives discretion to the magistrate to issue either a summons or a warrant to compel the attendance of the accused.
“In the present matter, it is evident that the prosecution proceeded to summon the accused persons to appear before court to answer their charges. While three have so far complied with the summons, one accused person is yet to comply. This matter was registered in court on 5th May 2022 and there have been several adjournments, and on all the dates we convened, the first accused person has never attended.
“There have been excuses, from him and sometimes, his Counsel. That is the reason why at present, the State is applying for Warrant of Arrest to compel his attendance. There is a formal charge having already been completed by this court.
“In our view, looking at the circumstances, which have surrounded the progress of this matter, a warrant of arrest could be ideal to compel the attendance of the first accused person. Counsel for the accused person states that the reason given for his nonattendance today should be taken into his favour.
“However, it must be acknowledged, that Counsel misinformed the court when he said the accused person is attending medication in the United Kingdom, yet he is in Dubai The same was later retracted by Counsel for the accused, through a letter, which we believe did not form part of the record.
“Suffice to say that when the first accused person was leaving for Dubai, he knew (we assume) that there was his case coming on the scheduled date,” said the magistrate, detailing other relevant legal provisions before, nonetheless, dismissing the State application.
BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-Deputy Education Minister Monica Chang’anamuno says despite several challenges the country is facing, the government still remains committed to improve teachers’ domestic needs, the pupil-qualified teacher ratio, and pupil-classroom ratio.
Chang’anamuno was speaking on Tuesday October 25, 2022 at Mount Soche Hotel in Blantyre where she was presiding over the commemoration of the 2022 World Teaches’ Day.
For instance, the Deputy Minister disclosed that currently, Ministry of Education has developed a new policy which is demanding that there should be a Minimum Essential Education package of which a fully function school must comply to.
Chang’anamuno said following the policy, the government has started constructing 207 semidetached teachers houses in the hard to reach rural schools which are expected to accommodate 414 teachers across the country.
The Deputy Minister said in addition to that, the government is constructing 10,900 additional classrooms for primary, in addition to the 383 already built to decongest large classes and create a conducive learning environment in schools
On the teacher’s job recruitment, Chang’anamuno said in January this year, Ministry of Education recruited, 2,200 primary school teachers followed by 2599 Secondary school teacher in March.
She promised that these recruitment exercises will continue as resources become available
“We have also recruited 4,125 Auxiliary Teachers drawn from Primary Teacher Education (IPTE) 13 and part of IPTE 14 and they have been placed in various public schools across the thirty-four (34) education districts in the country,” she said.
She added; “I can gladly confirm the introduction of a blended – face-to-face and ODeL- model to train an initial 1,400 secondary school Head teachers who are consequently going to acquire a University Certificate in School Management and Institutional Leadership.
“This is aimed at significantly improving the management of secondary schools for effective results therefrom.
“My Ministry also has procured and distributed nearly one million three hundred thousand (1,292,976) mathematics and science textbooks in Government Secondary Schools.
“This I am pleased to say, has for the first time brought the pupil textbook ratio to 1:1 in all government secondary schools.
“This will make teaching easier, and more effective, which will in turn significantly improve learning outcomes.
The Deputy Minister concluded that President Lazarus Chakwera has been very pro-active at national, regional and global level, giving an example that during the recent 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, at the Transforming Education Summit, he made commitments to maintain large allocation of the national budget to education and that also passionately lobbied with development partners to ease financing restrictions that prohibit our country to adequately recruit into the civil service including the teachers.
The event which was held under the theme, “Transformation of Education begins wit Teachers” saw 185 teachers being awarded for their exceptional work in contributing towards the development of education in the country.
TEHRAN-(MaraviPost)-The world’s dirtiest man has died at the age of 94 just a few months after the villagers in his community persuaded him to wash for the first time in 60 years.
The Iranian man, Amou Haji, died on Sunday in the village of Dejgah after a short illness.
Reports indicate that Haji had abstained from washing because he believed soap and water would make him sick.
Daily Mail reported that Haji started his eccentric way of life after experiencing ’emotional setbacks in his youth’ which made him decide to became isolated.
He reportedly lived in isolation for most of his life in an open brick hut, which villagers made after he started sleeping in a hole in the ground.
He also had an aversion to fresh food and drink and his favourite food was rotten porcupine, and he would choose to drink five litres of water a day from a rusty oil can which he would often collect from nearby puddles.
Apart from his unusual eating habits, Haji also reportedly liked to smoke animal faeces out of an old pipe, rather than tobacco. He was also known to wear an old, decaying, war helmet to keep his head warm in the winter and had no family.
In 2013, media released short documentary titled ‘The Strange Life of Amou Haji’ that described more about his way of life.
The previous record holders for the longest time between washing was Kailash Singh, a 67-year-old from India who claimed to have not showered in 39 years.
BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-Malawi Police in Zomba are keeping in custody a 26 – year – old man, Andrew Newa for killing a 39 years – old, Damson Padzala.
Zomba Police Station Deputy Spokesperson Aaron Chilala, confirmed of the news with local media on Tuesday October 25,2022, that the incident occurred on October 19, when the victim went to the suspect mother to collect money but the matter turned into a misunderstanding.
Chilala explained that the suspect tortured and assaulted Damson and finally tied him with a rope throughout the night.
He said upon his release, the late Damson went home but complained of general body pains and was vomiting blood.
He was later taken to Zomba Central Hospital where he died on October 23 while receiving treatment.
Following this, police arrested Andrew Newa, who will answer the charge of murder contrary to section 209 of the penal code.
If not, then look no further than the UN World Health Organization (WHO), which has just catalogued the 19 fungi that represent the greatest public health risk today.
The aim of listing these fungal “priority pathogens” is to promote research and strengthen our response to fungal infections and antifungal resistance.
People most at risk are those with underlying health problems or a weakened immune system, WHO said.
And just how important the issue is, was demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when invasive fungal infections increased significantly among hospitalized patients, “often with devastating consequences”.
“New groups at risk of invasive fungal disease are constantly being identified,” WHO warned on Tuesday. “As the fungi that cause common infections – such as candida oral and vaginal thrush – become increasingly resistant to treatment, risks for the development of more invasive forms of infections in the general population are also growing.”
Growing public health concern
There are only four types of antifungal medicine available today, which is a problem, as fungal infections are becoming more common and resistant to treatment.
Even more worrying is the fact that “most fungal pathogens lack rapid and sensitive diagnostics, and those (medicines) that exist are not widely available or affordable globally”, WHO said.
People at greatest risk from invasive fungal infections include those with cancer, HIV or AIDS, organ transplants, chronic respiratory disease and tuberculosis.
Latest data shared by WHO indicates that fungal diseases are expanding in number and reachworldwide. Global warming and the increase of international travel and trade are believed to be responsible, the UN health agency said.
To give an idea of the scale of the potential threat posed by fungal infections, WHO noted that drug-resistant bacterial infections already “directly cause 1.27 million deaths and…contribute to approximately 4.95 million deaths every year”.
Step up surveillance
Among its top recommendations to countries seeking to tackle fungal disease, WHO urged the strengthening of laboratory and surveillance capacities, to better understand the burden of infection and antifungal resistance.
“Resistance to antifungal medicines is partly driven by inappropriate antifungal use,” WHO said, noting that the ill-judged use of antifungals in agriculture had been linked to rising infections of a common mould that has the capacity to spread, Aspergillus fumigatus.
The UN health agency’s catalogue focuses on fungal pathogens that can cause “invasive acute and subacute systemic fungal infections” which have proved resistant to medication.
The pathogens are ranked and listed in three priority groups: critical, high and medium. The critical group includes Cryptococcus neoformans, Candida auris, Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans.
The high group includes Nakaseomyces glabrata (Candida glabrata), Histoplasma spp., eumycetoma causative agents, Mucorales, Fusarium spp., Candida tropicalis and Candida parapsilosis.
Pathogens in the medium group are Scedosporium spp., Lomentospora prolificans, Coccidioides spp., Pichia kudriavzeveii (Candida krusei), Cryptococcus gattii, Talaromyces marneffei, Pneumocystis jirovecii and Paracoccidioides spp.
