Project Waterfall completed a four-year project in Jabi Tehnan, Ethiopia, providing the local coffee-growing community with improved water, sanitation and hygiene services.
The Jabi Tehnan project, launched in 2018 in collaboration with Water Aid, has provided improved access to safe water supply for 10,571 people, alongside better hygiene knowledge, skills and awareness.
The project has also increased access to improved and basic sanitation for 10,416 people in the villages of the Jabi Tehnan district, renowned for producing high-quality coffee.
Among the project beneficiaries are a local high school and primary school that now have access to proper toilets, a shower and handwashing facilities. A 100m3 reservoir and a water pumping system operated by solar energy have also been implemented, alongside the establishment of a Rural Water User Association.
Coffee farming provides a livelihood for approximately 15 million Ethiopians, nearly 15 percent of the population. However, only 39 percent of Ethiopia has access to basic safe water and just seven percent has access to basic sanitation.
(World Coffee portal)
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Coal mining threatens Ethiopia’s ancient coffee forest
Located 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) above sea level, Yayu’s coffee forest is one of the last and most significant ecosystems where genetically diverse varieties of arabica coffee grow wild.
Due to the global interest in preserving the Yayu coffee gene pool, as well as other indigenous plants, animals and bird species the forest supports, it was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2010.
Farmers say they live in harmony with the forest they depend on. “We only plant coffee seeds we collect from the forest, and we do not use any inorganic fertilizers,” Nuradin said.
But in recent years, increasing interest in what lies underneath the forest threatens to overturn this way of life. Around the turn of the century, a massive coal deposit was found in the area, generating huge interest from government and mining companies.
Farmers speaking to Mongabay say coal mining will completely change their society and local economy. They don’t see a long-term gain, they say, but worry instead that coal is a short-term goal that doesn’t buy sustainability.
(MONGABAY)
Ethio telecom selects Allot Traffic Management Solution
Allot, a cyber security company, announced that ethio telecom has selected the Allot SmartTraffic QoE solution. Allot provides leading innovative network intelligence and security solutions for Service Providers and Enterprises worldwide.
SmartTraffic QoE provides comprehensive network traffic analytics, plus flexible, granular and precise real-time bandwidth and congestion management.
The solution will be implemented to improve network performance and QoE for ethio telecoms mobile customers and take advantage of its Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) features to enable new and more competitive service plans.
The Smart Traffic QoE solution prioritizes critical applications over those that hog bandwidth based on Key Quality Indicators (KQIs). Using those KQIs, network traffic is intelligently shaped to ensure that heavy users do not negatively impact the Quality of Experience (QoE) of regular customers.
“We are proud to count ethio telecom as a new member of the family of Allot CSP customers,” Amir Oren, Vice President Sales, EMEA and LATAM at Allot said.
(The Fast Mode)
Ethiopian rebels attack Gambella, gov’t says it is in control
Heavy fighting broke out between Ethiopian troops and rebel forces in Gambella town on Tuesday. The attack on the border district, one government official said, was launched by the rebel Gambella Liberation Front (GLF) and Oromo rebels led by Gatluak Buom Pal (Gen.).
“The fighting in Gambella started at 6:00AM today. The attack was launched by rebel criminals led by Gatluak of the Gambella Liberation Front/Army and Oromo rebels,” one official said on conditions of anonymity.
“The fighting started outside the town and then collapsed into the center and a fierce battle was fought around the parliamentary building, and at this area, the rebels suffered defeat and some of them were arrested,” the official added.
Another government official described the fighting as brief and said the areas which were penetrated by the rebels inside Gambella like Gondar and three other areas have now been retaken by the government from the rebels who have since fled.
(Sudan’s post)
HORN in BRIEF
Drive towards a cashless economy is growing, Bank of Uganda
The value and volume of digital payment systems has increased tremendously in the period ended March, according to the Bank of Uganda.
The Bank said at the inaugural Financial Stability Symposium that data indicated that both internet banking and mobile money, which are the flagships of online payments, had increases signaling a steady growth in the pursuit for the cashless economy.
Digital payments, which are also known as electronic payments (e-payment), involve no usage of cash.
Speaking at the symposium in Kampala early this week, Bank of Uganda Deputy Director of National Payment Systems, Andrew Kawere, said the impressive growth of digital payments rhymes well with the Central Bank’s strategic plan that seeks to turn Uganda into a cashless economy.
During the year to March, data indicates the value of internet banking rose by 82.8 percent, increasing to Shs63.92 trillion up from Shs34.97 trillion in March 2021, while active users increased from 848,691 in March 2021 to 997,287, representing a growth of 17.51 percent.
(MONITOR)
Oil firms in Sudan start labor policy implementation
Petroleum industry in the country is expecting a period of calm, following an agreement between the government and petroleum consortia operating in South Sudan to implement the Unified Human Resource Policy Manual (UHRPM) for the Ministry of Petroleum.
The industry has seen rampant strikes by oil workers, who are South Sudan nationals, over the implementation of the policy manual.
Oil workers from Great Pioneer Operating Company Limited (GPOC), Dar Petroleum Operating Company (DPOC), Sudd Petroleum Operating Company (SPOC), and Nile Petroleum (Nilepet) have been on strike because of failures to implement the policy, retarding productivity, and poor environmental management in and around the oil fields over the past two years, according to the petroleum ministry.
According to the Minister of Petroleum, Puot Kang Chol, the delay was caused by some government officials who wanted to block the implementation of the policy.
The policy is expected to iron out thorny issues raised by the national workers for the umpteenth time. They want their salaries harmonized with the earnings of their expatriate counterparts, allowances and alleged overworking.
(The city review)
Somalia to receive USD 100 million from World Bank
The World Bank announced Thursday it will give Somalia USD 100 million in the next 12 months to address the government’s priorities.
The announcement comes after the bank’s country director, Kristina Svensson, met Somali President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, in the nation’s capital of Mogadishu.
They discussed strengthening the cooperation between Somalia and the bank, according to Somali National Television.
The support comes as the Horn of Africa country is currently experiencing one of the worst droughts in 40 years that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
More than 7.1 million Somalis, close to 50 percent of the population, are facing extreme hunger due to famine-like conditions, according to United Nations.
Nearly 800,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since 2021 in search of food, water and greener pastures for their animals.
The World Bank Board of Directors approved a USD 55 million International Development Assistance (IDA) grant in 2020 to support Somalia’s economic recovery through continued fiscal and other economic policy reforms to strengthen fiscal management and promote inclusive private sector-led growth.
(ANADOLU)
China helps Tanzania boost vocational education through joint project
Tanzania and China launched a joint project that aims to boost vocational education through the development of new vocational standards in the East African nation.
The National Occupational Standards Review and Development Project, launched on Wednesday, was sponsored by the China-Africa Vocational Education Alliance and supervised by Tanzania’s state-run National Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NACTVET).
A total of 43 Chinese vocational colleges in China will participate in the first phase of the project, involving 54 different levels of vocational standards, said the moderator of the launch, Jiang Yilin, Chinese secretary-general of the China-Africa Vocational Education Alliance.
The development of these standards will have a far-reaching impact on the development of vocational education in Tanzania, said Yilin.
“This is the first time that China has directly developed and revised vocational standards for an African country on a large scale,” said Dong Gang (Prof.), chairman of China’s National Joint Conference of Vocational &Technical College and University Presidents.
Dong said this marked an important milestone for the international outreach of China’s vocational education.
(People’s daily online)
