The Federal Government confirmed that some Nigerian students fleeing the conflict in Sudan were denied entry into Ethiopia but stated that the situation was being handled.
It said Nigerian authorities in Ethiopia were addressing the issue, as they had sought clearance for the fleeing students, stressing that it was, however, risky for the students to have embarked on such a journey.
This was as the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said on Tuesday that Sudan’s warring generals had agreed to a three-day ceasefire starting Tuesday, after previous bids to pause the conflict quickly disintegrated.
“Following intense negotiation over the past 48 hours, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces have agreed to implement a nationwide ceasefire starting at midnight on April 24 and lasting for 72 hours,” Blinken said in a statement two hours before the truce was to go into effect.
“During this period, the United States urges the SAF and RSF to immediately and fully uphold the ceasefire,” Blinken said.
Blinken said the US was also working with partners to set up a committee that would negotiate a permanent ceasefire in Sudan.
(Punch)
China can serve as role model to eliminate malaria in Africa
China should be used as a role model for malaria elimination by African countries to eradicate the disease from the continent, an Ethiopian health expert suggests.
China’s anti-malaria campaign can be implemented successfully in Africa, particularly in Ethiopia, taking into account the similarity in topography, varying altitude, and diverse population between the two countries, according to Eyob Beyene, assistant professor of medicine at Addis Ababa University.
“China can serve as a role model to eliminate malaria in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa. China can also help us eliminate the disease by adapting best practices,” Eyob told Xinhua in a recent interview.
Eyob says China’s assistance to Ethiopia in fighting malaria has expanded over time since the Chinese government dispatched its first medical team to assist the East African nation more than 40 years ago.
According to him, China’s cooperation with Ethiopia to combat the disease includes sending Chinese medical teams, conducting personnel training, and building a malaria prevention and treatment center in the city of Adama, some 100 kilometers southeast of Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.
(People’s Daily Online)
Tourism Seychelles, Ethiopian strengthen partnership
The Ethiopian Airlines country manager in Seychelles and the Principal Secretary for Tourism discussed strategies to strengthen their relationship at the Botanical House during a recent courtesy visit.
Doreen Vital, a member of the Ethiopian Airlines team in Seychelles, accompanied Kassahun Terefa, the new local head of the airlines, to a meeting with Sherin Francis, the Principal Secretary for Tourism, and Bernadette Willemin, the Director General for Destination Marketing.
Addressing the Ethiopian Airlines team, Francis stressed the importance of joining forces to make the destination visible and enhance sales for the airline.
“We have had several successful collaborations with Ethiopian Airlines, and they have proven to be extremely reliable and service-oriented,” Francis said.
Francis and Willemin recently paid a visit to the airline’s headquarters in Addis Ababa to discuss potential collaborations and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
The PS for Tourism and the Director General for Marketing met with the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mesfin Tasew; the Chief Commercial Officer, Lemma Yadecha Gudeta; and the Vice President at ET Holiday and Digital, Hailemelekot Mamo.
(eTurbo News)
Mini-grid project to supply reliable energy to Ethiopian communities
BOS AG, a provider of renewable energy solutions, announced the development of a major energy project in Ethiopia.
In March 2023, the installation of an electrification project will start in several villages in Ethiopia. Thanks to smart AC mini-grid systems, many households and businesses will be powered with sustainable and renewable electricity for the first time.
This will positively impact the communities by allowing them to have energy services that are affordable and bankable, simple to use, long lasting, clean, and remotely monitored for preventive maintenance.
The project involves the construction of five mini-grids, providing clean and sustainable energy to over 3,800 households and up to 200 businesses, including shops, schools, and hospitals, in the region. The mini-grids will be equipped with 405 kVA of inverter chargers and will provide 200 kW of PV power. As for the generated energy at peak performance for the PV panels, it is considered to reach 650 kWp.
In addition, the Lithium iron phosphate batteries have a capacity of 1.3 MWh of Lithium iron phosphate batteries. These mini-grids will provide energy for the citizens and around 200 different applications.
(Alt Energy Mag)
Malaria cases on the rise in Bugiri despite interventions
Cases of malaria continue to surge despite interventions by the Ministry of Health, including the provision of mosquito nets and indoor residual spraying of households, according to authorities in Bugiri District.
Robert Mutumba Musenze (MD), the District Health Officer, said that from 2022 to date, the area has registered two million cases of malaria.
Geoffrey Kakaire Makombe, the Nabukalu sub-county chairperson, said at least 472 children have succumbed to malaria during the same period.
The above revelation was brought to the fore on Tuesday as Uganda joined the rest of the world to commemorate World Malaria Day.
Musenze said that over the past two months, the district has carried out an indoor residual spraying exercise that has seen 98 percent of the homesteads sprayed.
“I wish to thank the Ministry of Health for identifying Bugiri District to host this very important event, but I must reiterate that we still need more help from the government to overcome the spread of malaria in the area,” Musenze said.
Kakaire, however, said the major cause of malaria-related deaths is a shortage of drugs, adding that the provision of mosquito nets and residual spraying of homesteads may not do much if the shortage of drugs persists.
(Daily Monitor)
Dozens dead, hundreds missing in Kenya starvation cult case
An ongoing investigation into a suspected religious cult in southeastern Kenya whose followers were allegedly told to starve themselves has led to the discovery of dozens of bodies.
The death toll reached 90 on Tuesday after Kenyan police exhumed more remains from mass graves in an 800-acre forest in the village of Shakahola, near the coastal town of Malindi.
“This is as of now,” Kenyan Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said during a press conference on Tuesday while visiting the site. “The process continues for the rest of the day, and we don’t know how many more graves and how many more bodies we are likely to discover.”
More than 200 people have been reported missing in the area in the wake of the grim findings, according to a press release from the Kenya Red Cross Society.
Most of the dead have been recovered from shallow graves, while some were found alive but later died. Another 34 people who were rescued from the property have survived, Kindiki said.
The victims are all believed to be followers of Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and his self-proclaimed “Good News International Church.”
(ABC News)
Weekly loan maturity rate of $368 mln burdens Kenya
Kenya’s President William Ruto’s administration is reeling under a huge public debt burden, with loans maturing at a rate of Ksh50 billion (USD 368.32 million) every week.
The situation is compounded by a revenue collection shortfall that has further pushed the country’s government to the brink.
The resultant cash crunch has occasioned delays in the payment of civil servants’ salaries and the disbursement of an equitable share of national revenue to the nation’s 47 county governments.
Appearing before the country’s Senate County Public Investment and Special Funds Committee, Kenya’s National Treasury and Economic Planning Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u (Prof.) said in March alone, the total maturities hit Ksh147 billion (USD one billion).
Ndung’u told the Committee, led by Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi, that the debt obligations for the month of March were largely driven by interest payments to domestic creditors. The Secretary explained that most of the debts falling due at the same time are domestic.
He said that the government has to service these domestic debts to stimulate the local economy. He says the economy is facing a perfect storm with missed growth targets, worsening revenue shortfalls, and the prevailing tough times.
(The East African)
Tanzania saves Sh7.6 trillion by winning cases, arbitration proceedings
The government saved Sh7.6 trillion between July last year and March this year, the amount that it could have paid if it had lost some high-profile civil cases and arbitration proceedings.
Damas Ndumbaro, the minister for constitution and legal affairs, revealed this in Parliament as he presented the Sh383.6 billion budget proposal for his ministry for the 2023–2024 fiscal year.
Ndumbaro said between July 2022 and March 2023, his Ministry, through the office of the Solicitor General, conducted a total of 157 arbitration proceedings, 31 of which were international ones.
Of the 157 arbitration cases, 16 were concluded, five of which were international.
As it happens, the government saved some Sh7.26 trillion that could have been paid if it failed to win those types of cases.
On the other hand, the government conducted a total of 6,320 civil cases, six of which were international ones.
The government, he explained, concluded a total of 575 cases, five of which were international. As a result, some Sh305.4 billion that could have been lost in those cases was saved.
(The Citizen)