Health

Global health agencies outline plan to support Ugandan government-led response to outbreak of ebola virus disease

Maravi Post Reporter

Following the declaration of an Ebola outbreak in Uganda on 20 September 2022, the outbreak has now spread to seven districts (Kasanda, Kyegegwa, Bunyangabu and Kagadi districts beyond the original epicenter in Mubende district, and then to Kampala City and Wakiso). The government-led response has activated the Incident Management System in order to control the outbreak. In support of the Ministry of Health-led efforts, CEPI, Gavi and WHO have outlined a plan to accelerate research during the outbreak, to ensure access to investigational doses, and to facilitate scaling up and access to any subsequent licensed vaccine.

Vaccination is usually one of the response interventions in such an outbreak, however, there are currently no licensed vaccines (or therapeutics) for Ebola disease caused by the Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV), though there are several candidate vaccines which appear to be suitable for evaluation in a clinical trial during this outbreak.

By embedding research at heart of the outbreak response, we can achieve two goals: to evaluate potentially efficacious candidate vaccines, and to potentially contribute to end this outbreak, and protect populations at risk in the future.

The Ministry of Health has designated the Makerere University Lung Institute to conduct vaccine and therapeutics clinical trials. The clinical trial to evaluate candidate vaccines against this ebolavirus is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Health in Uganda and WHO, and involves support from partners. A Principal investigator from Makerere University Lung Institute will lead the vaccine trial. 

WHO, CEPI and Gavi are providing support to ensure that sufficient doses of candidate vaccines are available for the trial and beyond.  If sufficient doses can be made available, the aim of the vaccine trial would be to establish how effective the candidate vaccines are in diverse populations. The vaccine developers and funders who will make the candidate vaccines available include the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India, the Sabin Vaccine Institute and the US government institutions Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and MSD.

Moreover, there are other organisations committed to supporting the overall response, including Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), UNICEF, non-governmental organizations, donors, and regulators including the African Vaccine Regulatory Forum (AVAREF).

Goals of the collaboration

The following goals have been identified for the organizations’ efforts; these are likely to evolve in response to the outbreak.

  • In the short term, supporting the Ministry of Health of Uganda’s outbreak response efforts as needed to control SUDV and, under their leadership, support a randomized clinical trial to evaluate one or more candidate vaccines as part of the response to the outbreak.
  • In the mid-term, allocating resources to plan for and to reserve sufficient manufacturing capacity to scale up the production of candidate vaccines (even before they are licensed), potentially by establishing a risk-sharing mechanism. This may also involve manufacture of additional vaccines at risk during the trial to ensure that doses of a vaccine found to be efficacious vaccine can be made available to end the outbreak as quickly as possible.
  • Over the longer term, exploring pathways to ensure that licensed SUDV vaccine(s) are available via the Ebola stockpile, which is enabled and funded by Gavi and managed by UNICEF on behalf of the WHO-coordinated International Coordinating Group (ICG) mechanism on Vaccine Provision, potentially using innovative market shaping mechanisms. 
  • Furthermore, committing to developing a mechanism to ensure equitable access and funding for SUDV vaccines research, outbreak response and preventive vaccination. Also, to provide support for development and evaluation of next generation vaccines.

The signatories commit to be guided by the following principles: 

  • Leverage organisational strengths towards a common goal: Considering each institutions’ mandate and mission and its expertise, all pledged to increase coordination and support the overarching agreed goals which cut across the remit of any one institution
  • Country driven and country engaged: Commit to support the Ministries of Health experiencing the outbreaks and ensure any engagement with the countries is coordinated and aligned with the Ministry of Health and responds to locally identified needs
  • Decision making which is evidence-informed and considers access: Commit to ensure decision making builds on robust scientific assessment of candidate vaccines and considers implications for future equitable access to a licensed vaccine
  • End-to-end approach based on access and equity: Achieve development and delivery goals by accelerating research and development, as well as push and pull mechanisms and other innovative financing – with access and equity centred at each stage
  • Efficient resource allocation: Ensure adequate funding and resources are available in a timely manner and aligned with national research and response priorities
  • Research integrity and ethics: Conduct research integrated in the response to outbreaks and in accordance with Good Clinical Practices.

Global research and development collaboration in response to Ebola outbreaks  

The actions taken by the Ministry of Health in Uganda and its partners build on past collaboration and experiences responding to Zaire ebolavirus outbreaks (another Ebola virus species), on COVAX lessons learned, and on working on other vaccine stockpile mechanisms.

A commitment to encourage availability of doses for the candidate vaccines for clinical trial and beyond. In 2014, the Gavi Board approved a funding envelope for accelerated access to Ebola vaccines including eventual procurement of licensed vaccines, vaccine delivery and support for recovery in affected countries. Gavi subsequently signed an Advance Purchase Commitment (APC) agreement with Merck, securing the commitment to achieve and maintain availability of 300,000 doses of investigational vaccine doses until licensure and WHO recommendation.

Integrating clinical research in the outbreak response. Together with the Ministry of Health in Guinea, WHO was part of a broader coalition of countries and partners which worked to assess candidate Ebola vaccines in the context of the West Africa Ebola outbreak caused by Zaire ebolavirus species.  In 2014, a WHO-led global consortium rapidly initiated the necessary Phase 1 trials (VEBCON) and a randomized Phase 3 clinical trial in Guinea led by the Ministry of Health and WHO with several other partners which generated the evidence on the efficacy of the rVSV- ZEBOV Ebola vaccine. Additional clinical trials to evaluate various vaccines were conducted in 2015 by the Ministries of Health of Liberia and Sierra Leone and with the support of the US National Institutes of Health, The US Centers for Disease Control and the London School of Hygiene and Public Health among others. The experience of the West Africa Ebola outbreak catalysed the establishment of the WHO R&D Blueprint for epidemics by the World Health Assembly in 2015 after CEPI in 2016.

Deploying vaccines with proven efficacy yet unlicensed as part of the outbreak response. After 2015 and before its licensure, the proven effective yet unlicensed vaccine was successfully deployed as part of the response to Ebola outbreaks until 2021 under the leadership of the Ministries of health and with support from WHO, Gavi, UNICEF and other partners. In all the outbreaks since 2016 Ministries of Health, WHO, and several partners have also collected additional evidence on the efficacy of the rVSV-ZEBOV Ebola vaccine. Despite the challenges, during the 2018-2020 outbreaks in Equateur, North Kivu and Ituri provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, over 320,000 people at risk of Ebola (contacts, contacts of contacts, and health care and front-line workers in affected areas) received a safe and effective vaccine.

Creating a mechanism to ensure availability and access to licensed vaccines. In 2019, the Gavi Board approved funding for the establishment of a global stockpile of licensed Ebola vaccines, administered via the ICG mechanism – initially with investigational doses and then licensed vaccine for Ebola Zaire – but with potential to include other vaccines, depending vaccine availability and following WHO recommendations. Stockpile of licensed doses have since been used to combat recent smaller outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea.

A global, end-to-end collaboration to promote equitable access in support of countries’ strategies and needs. Beyond Ebola, the lessons from the COVID-19 response, including the establishment of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator and key learnings from the vaccine pillar COVAX, are particularly important for the field of vaccine R&D, manufacturing, delivery and country and community engagement. 

Notes to editors

About CEPI

CEPI is an innovative partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil organizations, launched in 2017, to develop vaccines against future epidemics. Its mission is to accelerate the development of vaccines and other biologic countermeasures against epidemic and pandemic threats so they can be accessible to all people in need. Prior to COVID-19, CEPI’s work focused on developing vaccines against Ebola virus, Lassa virus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, Nipah virus, Rift Valley Fever virus and Chikungunya virus – it has over 20 vaccine candidates against these pathogens in development. CEPI has also invested in new platform technologies for rapid vaccine development against unknown pathogens (Disease X).

CEPI has played a central role in the global response to COVID-19, supporting the development of the world’s largest portfolio of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants with a focus on speed, scale and access, as well as co-leading COVAX, the global initiative to deliver fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. CEPI is also the world’s leading funder of R&D for broadly protective coronavirus vaccines which could protect against future variants of COVID-19 as well as other coronaviruses with epidemic and pandemic potential.

CEPI has embarked upon an ambitious US$3.5bn five-year plan – called CEPI 2.0 – to dramatically reduce or even eliminate the future risk of pandemics and epidemics. Central to the plan is CEPI’s goal – supported by the G7 and G20 – to compress the time taken to develop safe, effective, globally accessible vaccines against new threats to just 100 days. Achieving this ‘100 Days Mission’ would give the world a fighting chance of containing a future outbreak before it spreads to become a global pandemic. Read the plan at endpandemics.cepi.net/

About Gavi

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation – over 981 million children – and prevented more than 16.2 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 lower-income countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningococcal and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation, above all the zero-dose children who have not received even a single vaccine shot. The Vaccine Alliance employs innovative finance and the latest technology – from drones to biometrics – to save millions more lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency.

Gavi is a co-convener of COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, together with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. In its role, Gavi is focused on procurement and delivery for COVAX: coordinating the design, implementation and administration of the COVAX Facility and the Gavi COVAX AMC and working with its Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO, along with governments, on country readiness and delivery.

The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organisations that fund Gavi’s work here. Learn more at www.gavi.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

About WHO

Dedicated to the well-being of all people and guided by science, the World Health Organization leads and champions global efforts to give everyone, everywhere an equal chance at a safe and healthy life. We are the UN agency for health that connects nations, partners and people on the front lines in 150+ locations – leading the world’s response to health emergencies, preventing disease, addressing the root causes of health issues and expanding access to medicines and health care. Our mission is to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable.

Sourced from WHO

Lifestyle

Kenya reinstates members of its scandal-hit national football federation

Maravi Post Reporter

Kenya has reinstated members of its scandal-hit national football federation a year after the body was disbanded over corruption allegations.

But the country’s new Sports Minister, Ababu Namwamba, warned its former chief, Nick Mwenda – who is facing corruption charges – that he could not return to work until legal proceedings against him are completed.

The Football Kenya Federation was disbanded last November after an investigation into its finances revealed it had failed to account for the funds it had received from government and sponsors.

Mwenda was arrested in the same month for alleged financial impropriety during his tenure, after the government set up a caretaker committee to run football.

That case was dismissed due to lack of evidence, but he was re-arrested in July this year on fresh charges.

Hopes that FIFA will lift its ban

Following his ouster and the disbanding of the federation, Kenya was suspended by football’s world governing body, FIFA, over government interference in the running of the sport.

It is not immediately clear if FIFA will allow Kenya’s team to return to matches, but the federation said on Friday it had informed the world body of its ‘full and unconditional control’ over the sport.

Kenya cannot host or play in any international matches until FIFA lifts the ban.

Source: Africanews

Business, Development

KEIZAI DOYUKAI, African Development Bank Group sign letter of intent to strengthen cooperation and business ties between Japan and Africa

Maravi Post Reporter

KEIZAI DOYUKAI, or the Japan Association of Corporate Executives today signed a statement of intent with the African Development Bank Group to foster closer collaboration and to strengthen business ties between Japan and Africa.

The signing took place on the sidelines of the Africa Investment Forum Market Days 2022, taking place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The DOYUKAI, a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of Japanese business leaders, is envisaging the creation of an “Impact Fund” to build an impact investment ecosystem in Africa. The fund, which will be managed by an independent operating company launched by early next year, will leverage DOYUKAI’s network with Japanese corporations and institutions in the private and public sectors. Focus areas of the proposed Fund are fintech (including embedded finance), healthcare, food security and sustainability.

Mr Ken Shibusawa, head of the DOYUKAI delegation and African Development Bank vice president for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization, Solomon Quaynor, signed on behalf of their respective institutions in a brief ceremony moderated by Mr. Takashi Hanajiri, Head of Asia External Representation Office for the African Development Bank Group. Mr Shibusawa was accompanied a delegation from KEIZAI DOYUKAI.

The signing was preceded by a panel session titled: “Controlled Chaos: Protecting Africa’s Interests in a Global Geopolitical Storm.”

During the session, Mr. Shibusawa, expressed his views on the potential contribution Japanese companies could bring to the African continent. He referred to the philosophy of one of his well-known ancestors, Eiichi Shibusawa, whose influence on the evolution of modern Japanese capitalism is still profound today.

Mr. Shibusawa described his trip to the Africa Investment Forum as well worth the long journey and a good match in terms of interests. “Our mission is to provide impact investment in Africa…we are building on this cooperation,” he said.

Quaynor said it was about building a long-term relationship. “For us at the African Development Bank we are trying to create partnerships. One aspect will be the co-creation of an impact fund. But there is more to come.”

The Africa Investment Forum Market Days annual convening showcases transformative investment opportunities across the African continent. It brings together deal sponsors, deal brokers and deal makers from around the world. This is the first in person gathering since 2019.

The platform is an initiative of the African Development Bank and seven other development institutions: Africa 50; the Africa Finance Corporation; the African Export-Import Bank; the Development Bank of Southern Africa; the Trade and Development Bank; the European Investment Bank; and the Islamic Development Bank.

Africa Investment Forum 2022 - KEIZAI DOYUKAI, the Japan Association of Corporate Executives and African Development Bank Group sign letter of intent to strengthen cooperation and business ties between Japan and Africa

Africa Investment Forum 2022 – KEIZAI DOYUKAI, the Japan Association of Corporate Executives and African Development Bank Group sign letter of intent to strengthen cooperation and business ties between Japan and Africa

Source African Development Bank Group

Business, Development

Africa Investment Forum 2022: Before exporting its gas, Africa should meet its own needs

Maravi Post Reporter

Africa should satisfy its own natural gas needs first before considering exports in the wake of the growing interest among European countries, which is linked to the Russian-Ukraine war, experts have cautioned.  

These were the viewpoints at the end of the parallel session of the Africa Investment Forum 2022 Market Days held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 2 to 4 November. The session was titled “Natural Gas and the African Continent: what’s the role of Africa’s natural gas in responding to the global energy deficit?”.

Many gas-producing countries in Africa, including Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, and Mozambique, have committed to supplying Europe, panelists learned.

Various oil and gas sector actors participated in the panel. They included Henry Menkiti, head of development at the Sahara Group, an international energy and infrastructure conglomerate working in more than 38 African countries; Fola Fagbule, head of financial advisory at the Africa Finance Corporation, specializing in infrastructure financing in Africa, and Adly Kafafy, vice-president of the Egyptian company, Taqa Arabia.

Fagbule noted that gas has become essential for the continent. “Our population is growing, and we have a deficit in energy access, whereas Africa has considerable gas reserves and is contributing to the global supply.”  He added, “So we should meet our nations’ needs, which would involve strengthening gas development structures, creating local markets in a supply chain, and putting in place the necessary infrastructure.”

For example, Fagbule pointed to Nigeria, where an ecosystem for gas development has been created. That model, he said, could be reproduced on a large scale on the continent.  “It’s an important topic to put on the African free-trade zone agenda,” he added.

Menkiti enumerated other projects supplying African gas to Europe. “Algeria, Egypt and Morocco are sending gas to Spain and France.  Egypt and Israel have an agreement to export gas to other European countries. The Total Group has invested in an offshore project in Mozambique. Now, Senegal is ready to launch a large gas development project. Africa must see that it able to provide to the European Union, because it must meet its own needs itself. “

Kafafy said: “We shouldn’t wait; we must help Africa develop its own gas resources.  If we must provide them (Europe) with natural gas, they must also provide us with financing for our infrastructure.” He pointed out, “Today, we cannot find adequate financing to invest in gas development and extraction.”

The Africa Investment Forum 2022 is an innovative investment market bringing together African leaders and government heads, on the one hand, and project promoters, private and public investors, capital investment companies, philanthropists, and sovereign funds on the other.
Source African Development Bank Group

Lifestyle

World climate summit to get underway in Egypt against backdrop of war in Ukraine

Maravi Post Reporter

Last minute preparation are underway in Egypt’s seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh as it prepares to welcome delegates to this year’s United Nations Climate Conference, COP27.

Some 30,000 people representing governments, businesses, NGOs, and civil society groups are registered to attend the meeting which gets underway on Sunday.

This year’s gathering is taking place against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which has caused global inflation and an energy and food crisis.

Many countries have had to scale back on their climate goals in the short-term, and its believed COP27 will likely see a setback in the pledges and commitments previously made by some of them.

UN warning on temperature cap

Under the Paris Agreement on climate change, adopted by 196 parties in 2016, the goal is to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, and preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

But last week the United Nations warned that ‘there is no credible pathway in place’ for capping the rise in global temperatures under the target of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

At last year’s COP26 in Glasgow, nations agreed to review their carbon-cutting pledges annually and not just every five years, though only a handful of nations have done so in 2022.

The focus in this round of talks is likely to be on increased global efforts on adaptation, climate financing, and increased financial support to help developing countries cope not just with future impacts, but those already claiming lives and devastating economies.

The conference runs from 6-18 November.

Source: Africanews

Health

Climate change much deadlier than cancer in some places, UNDP data shows

Maravi Post Reporter

The study gives the example of Dhaka, Bangladesh, where under a scenario of very high emissions by 2100, additional deaths due to climate change could rise to nearly twice the country’s current annual death rate from all cancers, and 10 times its annual road traffic fatalities.

“Because of human action, the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is reaching dangerous levels, driving Earth’s temperatures higher and amplifying the frequency of intensity of extreme events”, says the newly launched Human Climate Horizons platform, adding that without concerted and urgent action, climate change will further exacerbate inequalities, and uneven development.

Mortality impacts

Building on the analyses of 2020, 2021 and 2022 Human Development Reports – and fed by an evolving stream of frontier research – the data shows how climate change can impact people’s lives – from mortality to livelihoods, and energy use.

Although higher temperatures and a warmer climate put cardiovascular and respiratory systems under stress everywhere, outcomes will vary between places, according to communities that have the resources to adapt and those that do not.

The data shows that climate change could increase mortality rates in Faisalabad, Pakistan by near 67 deaths per 100,000 population – causing more fatalities than strokes, the country’s third leading cause of death.

In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, however, higher incomes could keep the death toll to 35 per 100,000, which is still deadlier than Alzheimer’s disease – the sixth leading cause of death globally.

Rising temps

Since the late 19th century, the earth’s average temperature has risen by nearly 1.2°C, changing the entire surface area of the planet, according to the research.

However, billions live in regions that have already experienced warming greater than the global average.

As an example, the platform pointed to Maracaibo, Venezuela, noting that in the 1990s it averaged 62 annual days with temperatures exceeding 35°C. However, by mid-century, that number will likely soar to 201 days.

Energy impacts

Electricity availability and fuels used to generate it to power air conditioners and heaters, play a crucial role in our ability to cope with extreme temperatures, said UNDP.

The impact of climate change differs across sectors of the economy – Human Climate Horizons

Yet, the impacts of climate change on energy use will vary locally, as individuals, communities and businesses adapt to conditions using available resources.

In Jakarta, for example, electricity consumption in response to warmer temperatures is projected to increase by roughly one-third of current household consumption in Indonesia. This will require critical additional infrastructure planning.

Labour impacts

More frequent and severe temperature extremes also impact livelihoods, affecting the ability to perform tasks and influencing work intensity and duration.

“The impact of climate change differs across sectors of the economy with workers in high-risk, weather-exposed industries like agriculture, construction, mining and manufacturing most affected”, according to platform data.

In Niamey, Niger, in sectors such as construction, mining and manufacturing, excessive heat was responsible for 36 fewer working hours annually, taking a 2.5 per cent toll on the country’s future GDP.

In Niger, as in many other parts of the Sahel, climate shocks have resulted in recurring droughts with devastating impacts on the region's already vulnerable populations.
© FAO/IFAD/WFP/Luis Tato

In Niger, as in many other parts of the Sahel, climate shocks have resulted in recurring droughts with devastating impacts on the region’s already vulnerable populations.

Human consequences

As the impacts of climate change are not evenly distributed globally, they will generate a significant uptick in inequalities over the coming years and decades.

But by highlighting that the future is not predetermined, UNDP hopes the information can empower people everywhere, to step up climate action.

The Human Climate Horizons mission is to ensure equal access to data on future impacts, inform decision-making and help everyone understand the human consequences of climate change in different scenarios.

‘Logical economic choice’

Meanwhile, UNDP has also launched the How Just Transition Can Deliver the Paris Agreement report this week, highlighting the need to embrace the “green revolution” – or risk increasing social inequality, civil unrest, economic loss.

Ahead of the UN climate conference, COP27, which kicks off on Sunday in in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, the report spotlights the importance of “fair and equitable” transitioning to meeting the climate goals set out in the Paris Agreement.

From providing workers with new green economy skills and access to social protection to ensuring that countries lay out a clear pathway to a net-zero future, UNDP chief Achim Steiner said the report provides “real-world insights into how to accelerate momentum around a just transition that is fair and equitable for the energy sector and beyond”.

A family sit under a makeshift shelter in Sindh Province in Pakistan, after their home was damaged in the devastating floods.
© UNICEF/Shehzad Noorani

A family sit under a makeshift shelter in Sindh Province in Pakistan, after their home was damaged in the devastating floods.

A just transition

The report analyses both enhanced short-term climate pledges, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and long-term strategies in which countries lay out plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero.

Encouragingly, 72 per cent of nations with enhanced NDCs that refer to a just transition are linking them to socio-economic considerations, while 66 per cent are proposing concrete actions and measures factoring in climate justice.

However, they fail to make linkages to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or gender equality in either short or long-term climate plans – missing a significant opportunity, UNDP said.

“As climate change intensifies and the world faces an immense energy crunch…decoupling from fossil fuels and investing in the green energy infrastructure of tomorrow…[is] the only logical economic choice”, said Mr. Steiner.

UN Health News

Business, Development

Africa Investment Forum: African investors asked to mobilize more for infrastructure in Africa

Maravi Post Reporter

At the November 2 opening of the 2022 Africa Investment Forum, panelists called on African investors to increase financing for African infrastructure to make the sector attractive to foreign investors.

The panel, “Mobilizing financial capital: What investment model will attract world capital to Africa?” featured representatives of the African private sector. They included Charles Kié, CEO of Genesis Holdings; Vincent Le Guennou, CEO of Africa50 Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, an infrastructure acceleration fund and investment platform created by African governments and the African Development Bank; Florizelle Liser, CEO of Corporate Council on Africa of the U.S; Oscar Onyema, CEO of the Nigerian Exchange Group; and Simon Tiemtoré, Vista Bank CEO.

Panelists focused on investment models offering the most competitive secured capital commitments and how development finance and capital investment can use mixed financing to make Africa more favorable for investments.

This has become critical given the urgent need to better mobilize private capital for high-impact sectors in Africa, such as health infrastructure, to bolster the continent’s recovery in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Panelists highlighted Africa’s infrastructure finance deficit – of roads, energy, rail, gas and oil pipelines, health infrastructure, and education and training, among others. They proposed an array of local solutions for attracting better international capital.  

Liser said: “Before Covid-19, no one believed that we could develop a state-of-the-art pharmaceutical industry in Africa.  But with the pandemic, we began to produce RNA messenger vaccines in Africa.  I’m happy that investors are looking at Africa with fresh eyes.” 

Each year, Africa needs between $68-108 billion to finance infrastructure to accelerate its growth and socioeconomic development.  They said countries could mobilize these amounts from domestic sources, provided governments demonstrate budgetary discipline and collect domestic savings more judiciously.  

According to Kié, “If we lower budget deficits in Africa by 6%, that would mean annual savings of $60 to 100 billion, which is exactly what Africa needs to meet its infrastructure finance deficit.  If we collect an additional 10 % of domestic resources, we will save about $200 billion annually, which is largely sufficient to cover the deficits we are talking about here.” He invited African governments to create macroeconomic conditions that are attractive to investors.  

Kié called for restructuring the African banking sector to give it greater capacity for capitalization, especially among regional monetary and economic communities.  

Onyema sees the potential of more financing arrangements inside and beyond Africa, ranging from philanthropic institutions to stock exchange investments. “We can scale through capital markets,” he said, citing Nigeria as an example, “which raised green bonds to finance climate-sensitive projects and is currently working in partnership with the Luxembourg Stock Exchange to create greater interest among foreign investors.”   

Tiemtoré is an optimist. He said African investors had begun showing interest in financing infrastructure on the continent. “The cash and the puzzle pieces are there, and we can find local resources for infrastructure before calling for foreign capital.”  According to him, Vista Bank will invest in health and agri-food industry infrastructure in Africa thanks to African – and particularly American – capital.   

Panelists cited Africa50 is an even more interesting example of how investors can get involved in realizing development infrastructure in Africa.   Co-founded by the African Development Bank and African governments, Africa50 is interested in infrastructure development from start to finish, from conception to delivery.  It prioritizes African public and private finance mobilization on a global scale.   “If African investors don’t believe in this and don’t raise funds for African infrastructure, who will? For now, African investors are giving us positive feedback on our projects, so we will go to the international market afterward, says Le Guennou. He cited a green bankable $4 billion solar project in Egypt that will produce 1.5 gigawatts of clean energy for more than 1 million people.

Le Guennou stressed: “When we have sufficient funds and project success stories, we will attract enough interest so that project loan costs will drop.” He estimates that between now and 2050, Africa50 investments will make it possible for an additional 20 million Africans to use clean energy.  

Aubrey Hruby, principal researcher at the Atlantic Council and founder of Tofino Capital, moderated the session.

The 2022 Africa Investment Forum Market Days will end on November 4, when investment deals agreed upon will be announced.  

[embedded content]
Source African Development Bank Group

Human Rights, Malawi, Obituaries

Malawi’s TEVETA employee Sophie Nyirenda commits suicide over workplace harassment

Maravi Post Reporter
Sophie Nyirenda commits suicide

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-One of Technical, Entrepreneurial and Vocational Education and Training (TEVET) Authority’s employee Sophie Nyirenda is reportedly committed suicide over office work harassment.

According to police report the late Sophie who happened to be the daughter of Judge Nyirenda committed suicide in her house in the early hours of November 3, 2022 in Chinyonga township in Blantyre.

The police investigations show that Sophie committed suicide due to work place harassment after checking whatsapp messages which came from her Boss at the office.

Inside sources corroborated with the police investigation; “Issues of work harassment at TEVETA Regional office in Blantyre are common because of the conduct of the Regional Centre Manager.

“Several employees have complained to Head office of the conduct of their boss but nothing so far has happened and instead employees end up receiving warning letters”.

Added the source, “The issue of Sophie started last week when she complained to her fellow workmates of the ill-treatment and harassment she gets from her boss. But her colleagues encouraged her focus on her work”.

It alleges that on Sunday, October 30, 2022, her boss whose identity is yet to be disclosed sent a WhatsApp message which was very disheartening and abusive.

“The boss shouted at her and this made her to stop going to work from Monday, of October 31, 2022. Her workmates visited her on Monday at her house in Chinyonga and she told them that life to her is now meaningless and she is considering resigning and she will no longer go back to work because of what the boss is doing to her.

“She showed her workmates the message which came from their boss. Indeed the message was bad. However, they tried to counsel her and further advised her to go back to work and fil leave forms for a compassionate leave,” alleges the source.

The source added, “On Tuesday, they visited her again and what they noted was that she was no longer the same Sophie they used to know.She told them that they should not come closer to her because she has not taken a bath for 3 days.

“This meant that she was under heavy depression and stress. On Wednesday, November 2 of her workmates visited her again and advised her to go to work and apply for a holiday. She promised to go but she never did”.

‘The following day, Wednesday, her workmates visited her again but they were surprised to note that upon visiting the gate, they phoned her to open the gate but she told them that she is not home, and this was a lie because she was inside the house.

“They then advised her to tell her maid to come out and get some cassava which they had brought and within a minute the maid came out. They were worried that something is seriously wrong and it was around 8pm” said the source.

The sources adds, “And came Thursday morning, they received the news that Sophie has committed suicide in her house. Immediately Police came and took the dead body and also took her phone. Upon checking the messages in the phone, and also interviewing some employees, they concluded that Sophie indeed committed suicide because of work related issues especially harassment and bad messages she got from her work place.

“Several employees at the Regional office have confirmed that their boss on several occasions verbally abuses her subordinates. And she calls them names and openly challenges them that they are all dull and that once she becomes the Executive Director, they will be fired”.

“The death of Ms Sophie Nyirenda, daughter of the High Court Judge, could have been avoided if the manager treats her juniors well. It is so bad to lose such a productive young person because of evil deeds of some managers in the work place. This manager doesn’t deserve to lead people in the organisation like TEVETA,” worried the source.

There was no immediate reaction from TEVETA authorities on the matter.

Lifestyle

Kenya’s drought wreaks havoc on wildlife, kills over 200 elephants

Maravi Post Reporter

Kenya’s worst drought in four decades is wreaking havoc on wildlife. The Wildlife minister presented Friday (Nov 4) key findings of a new report entitled the ‘Impacts of the current drought on wildlife in Kenya’.

The crisis has affected nearly half of the east African nation’s 8 provinces, leaving humans and beasts very few food sources.

Speaking at a press conference Friday, the Tourism and Wildlife minister gave details on the high mortality of wildlife.

“The drought has resulted in the deaths of the following species of wildlife: Wildebeest, we’ve lost a total of 512 animals; common zebra – we’ve lost a total of 381; our elephants, we’ve lost a total of 205”, Peninah Malonza said during a press conference.

The Amboseli and Laikipia-Samburu regions (south) which are home to touristy safaris record more than 70 elephant deaths.

Some species like the gravy Zebras which are listed as Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List were badly hit.

“The drought has caused mortality of wildlife, mostly herbivore species. The mortalities have arisen because of the depletion of food resources and, as well as water shortages”, the minister said.

Four consecutive rainy seasons have failed in the Horn of Africa driving families and wildlife on the brink of famine.

The Kenyan Tourism and Wildlife minister said authorities were dropping off hay for the animals.

The ministry warned in a report unveiled Friday, that the figures released were likely far from comprehensive, as some carnivores could have devoured some carcasses.

Source: Africanews

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