diplomacy&development

A blockage on supplies and financial challenges are delaying Africa’s rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and risk curtailing plans to significantly expand the continent’s rollout later this year. Vaccine deliveries to Africa through the COVAX facility ground to a near halt in May as the Serum Institute of India diverted doses for domestic use. Between February and May the continent received just about a quarter – 18.2 million – of the 66 million expected doses through COVAX. “As people living in richer countries hit the reset button this summer and their lives start to look normal, in Africa our lives will stay on hold. This is unjust,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa. “We are optimistic that vaccine availability will improve significantly in the second half of the year. We can still catch up and make up for the lost ground, but time is running out.” The COVAX Facility continues to explore options to mitigate the impact of this globa

International organizations have come together to launch a new One Health High-Level Expert Panel to improve understanding of how diseases with the potential to trigger pandemics, emerge and spread. The panel will advise four international organizations - the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE); the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); and the World Health Organization (WHO) - on the development of a long-term global plan of action to avert outbreaks of diseases like H5N1 avian influenza; MERS; Ebola; Zika, and, possibly, COVID-19. Three quarters of all emerging infectious diseases originate in animals. It will operate under the One Health Approach, which recognizes the links between the health of people, animals, and the environment and highlights the need for specialists in multiple sectors to address any ealth threats and prevent disruption to agri-food systems. Key first steps will include systematic

The Coordinator of humanitarian aid in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, David McLachlan-Karr Faced with the increased needs of a large part of the population, the Coordinator humanitarian aid in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, David McLachlan-Karr, authorized the allocation of 30.5  million US dollars to support a multisectoral response in favor of the populations most vulnerable. In 2021, the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to face urgent humanitarian aid. The deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the east of the country (North and South Kivu, Ituri, Maniema and Tanganyika) and in the provinces of the Kasai region has led to an increase in the number of food insecure people in the country. Today, 27.3 million people currently face to high acute food insecurity. "This allocation will allow humanitarian actors who are on the front line to support the response to most urgent needs prioritized in the 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan. It

  Total's force majeure declaration has sent the project into a delay, negatively impacting Mozambique’s economic outlook. As French and African leaders gather on May 18 in Paris for the France-Africa Summit, Mozambican leaders and Total have a brilliant opportunity to push for the resumption of LNG projects in Mozambique and get things going. Even if exploitation of natural resources is not particularly on the Summit's agenda, there will be no better chance for the gas-rich country to showcase its solutions and arrangements to the issues posed to its gas industry. Notably, as one of the delayed projects involves a consortium led by French supermajor Total, who on April 26 issued a force majeure declaration to its LNG project in the Cabo Delgado province due to the security situation at the moment. Total's force majeure declaration has sent the project into a delay, negatively impacting Mozambique’s economic outlook, several international and local companies and workers who

  Mr. Moulay Abbas CEO The Mauritanian Bank for International Trade Masrvi was launched at the end of April and responds to Mauritanians’ banking needs by providing secure and accessible banking services. The Mauritanian Bank for International Trade (BMCI) (BMCI.mr) has partnered with TagPay to roll out its digital bank Masrvi, aimed at providing digital, value-added financial services to its customers. Powered by TagPay, Masrvi was launched at the end of April and responds to Mauritanians’ banking needs by providing secure and accessible banking services, across the country through mobile networks, whilst offering convenience. Masrvi enables BMCI to provide its customers with secure, simple, fast, and easy-to-access banking products and services that can be tailored to their needs, all with a convenience that traditional banks cannot match. Moulay Abbas, President of BMCI says: “By leveraging TagPay’s next-generation Core Banking System and their teams’ project expertise, we were able

$2.0 million USD to be extended to qualifying MSMEs. The African Union Development Agency NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) ( bit.ly/3w9P1aI ) and the Ecobank Group ( www.Ecobank.com ) its strategic partner on the development of the 100,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Initiative, are set to launch the financing component as from 27 May 2021. AUDA-NEPAD launched the 100,000 MSMEs Programme to accelerate African economic transformation, provide the needed skills, and build resilience against the economic shock triggered by the global pandemic. The ‘100 000 MSMEs’ initiative seeks to build the capacity of 1,000,000 enterprises in Africa through entrepreneurial and business training to improve access to finance and new markets while establishing networks for support and incubation to bolster their success. “Across the globe, MSMEs are the biggest and the best engine of innovation, social transformation and economic development and growth. AUDA-NEPAD is deeply convinced that Africa structu

Inaugural BAL Season Taking Place May 16-30 in Kigali, Rwanda. The Basketball Africa League (BAL) (theBAL.com) announced yesterday a multiyear partnership with Flutterwave that makes the payments technology company an associate partner of the BAL. The inaugural BAL season tipped off yesterday at the Kigali Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, with 12 teams from across Africa competing in the new professional league. The first BAL Finals will be held Sunday, May 30. Flutterwave, which was founded in 2016 and recently named among Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Companies, provides innovative payment solutions to more than 290,000 businesses and has an infrastructure reach in more 33 African countries, including Rwanda, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The partnership will leverage the BAL and Flutterwave’s shared commitment to driving economic growth across the continent through the launch of a digital campaign that will provide select African entrepreneurs and small b