Cape Verde

Afcon 2021: Senegal beat nine-man Cape Verde 2-0 to qualify to last-8

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 08:10:01 +0000

Afcon 2021: Senegal beat nine-man Cape Verde 2-0 to qualify to last-8

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admin Wed, 02/23/2022 - 08:10

Thursday, January 27, 2022

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Foroyaa Newspaper

Original Article

Afcon 2021: Senegal beat nine-man Cape Verde 2-0 to qualify to last-8

By Momodou Jarju

Senegal has qualified to the next stage of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) after beating nine-man Cape Verde 2-0 on Tuesday at the Bafoussam Stadium, Cameroon.

The Teranga Lions had to wait until their opponents were down to nine men when two of their players were shown red cards—midfielder Patrick Andrade in the 21 minutes and goalkeeper Vozinha in the 57 minutes.

Liverpool and Senegal forward Sadio Mane opened the scoreline in 63 minutes as he curled the ball into the right corner of the net from a resulting corner. Senegal’s second goal was scored by Bamba Dieng in the 92nd minute of the game.

Africa

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President Kenyatta Urges African Leaders to Maximize Efforts to Eliminate Malaria

admin — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 14:30:01 +0000

President Kenyatta Urges African Leaders to Maximize Efforts to Eliminate Malaria

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admin Mon, 02/21/2022 - 14:30

Sunday, February 6, 2022

Original Publisher

Social – Ethiopian News Agency

Original Article

President Kenyatta Urges African Leaders to Maximize Efforts to Eliminate Malar…

Addis Ababa February 6/2022/ENA/ The President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta urged African leaders to maximize their efforts to eliminate Malaria by 2030 in the continent.

President Kenyatta, who is also chair of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), made the remark today during the launch of the 2021 Malaria Progress Report on Africa in Addis Ababa on the margins of the ongoing 35th African Union Summit.

According the report malaria remains a significant threat to the health and socio-economic development of Africa.

The report stated that the burden of malaria in the continent is more significant than previously showing a 19 percent increase of deaths.

Some 2.1 million additional malaria deaths have been registered in Africa since 2000, it indicated.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also been compounding the challenges of malaria in the continent, the report added noting that the pandemic alone contributed to 49, 000 additional malaria deaths in 2020 across the continent.

The report further stated that the continent is not on the right track to achieve its ambitious goal of eliminating malaria by 2030.

According to the report, only 15 member states of the African Union including Ethiopia achieved significant progress towards the 2030 targets.

Among AU Members Ethiopia, Mauritania, Cape Verde, Gambia and Ghana were able to reduce malaria incidence by at least 40 percent. While Estwatini, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, Senegal and Togo reduced the incidence by 25 to 40 percent.

Two countries, Ethiopia and South Africa reduced malaria mortality by 40 percent; Niger, Sierra Leone and Togo also reduced the mortality by 25 to 40 percent.

While, Cape Verde and Sao Tome & Principe have been registered zero death of Malaria since 2018, the report revealed.

During the occasion President Kenyatta called African leaders to be the forefront globally and nationally to achieve goal of eliminating malaria by 2030, noting that ending malaria is attainable if the African Heads of State and Government take decisive actions.

Kenyatta further pointed out the need to advocate for the replenishment of the Global Fund in 2022 and mobilize new coalition of malaria champions at home and abroad.

Founded in 2009, the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) is a ground-breaking coalition of African Heads of State and Government working across country and regional borders to achieve a malaria-free Africa by2030. All African Union countries are members of ALMA.

Africa

Dev’t Community Calls for Universal Vaccine Access to Mitigate Impact of Omicron, Other Covid-19 Variants

admin — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 18:10:01 +0000

Dev’t Community Calls for Universal Vaccine Access to Mitigate Impact of Omicron, Other Covid-19 Variants

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admin Fri, 12/10/2021 - 18:10

Friday, December 3, 2021

Original Publisher

Social – Ethiopian News Agency

Original Article

Dev’t Community Calls for Universal Vaccine Access to Mitigate Impact of Omicro…

December 03/2021 (ENA) Development community at the 2021 African Economic Conference has called for urgent universal vaccine access as a way to mitigate the impact of Omicron and other variants of the Covid-19 virus in the continent.

The World Health Organization on Friday categorized Omicron as a Covid-19 “variant of concern”, signifying that it could be more contagious than other known mutations.

The 2021 edition of the African Economic Conference is being held in a hybrid format in Sal, Cabo Verde, and online.

The conference brings together a wide range of stakeholders, including policymakers, development institutions, the private sector, and researchers, to discuss ways to sustainably grow the continent’s development funding sources.

At the 2021 African Economic Conference on Thursday, Cabo Verde President José Maria Neves said although the world may have to live with Covid-19 for a few years, “we must act to manufacture our own vaccine and medicines to face this and other pandemics to come.”

“We must find innovative mechanisms for financing and managing sustainable development; otherwise we will disappoint young Africans,” Neves added.

“The fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, besides being internal to each country, is at the same time a global fight, which requires global collaborative solutions,” Neves stated.

Everyone wins if the less developed countries have the necessary conditions to overcome this serious health, economic and social crisis and to leverage their sustainable development, the president added.

In a video message, UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed said that vaccine inequality could cost African countries billions of dollars.

“Africa cannot recover from the pandemic alone, we need global solidarity,” she added.

Deputy Executive Secretary at the Economic Commission for Africa, Antonio Pedro on his part warned that “failure to address the pandemic through universal access to vaccines will spawn more resilient and potent variants, threatening the global effort to fight the virus. The recent emergence of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus illustrates my point.”

Attributing the emergence of the Omicron variant to “an uncoordinated global response to the pandemic”, he stated adding that “the possibility of new and more virulent variants, coupled with imminent climate shocks, calls for a more coordinated global response to the pandemic, backed by bold and innovative financing mechanisms.”

Acting Chief Economist and Vice-President at the African Development Bank, Kevin Urama also stressed on how the pandemic continued to have a huge socio-economic impact on Africa.

The Bank stood ready to support African countries as they rebuild their economies, he said, noting that “this has heightened the need for transformative domestic reforms. Challenges to Africa’s financing development must be tackled collectively.”

Africa

2pc or less have had Covid jabs in many African nations: WHO

admin — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 10:50:01 +0000

2pc or less have had Covid jabs in many African nations: WHO

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admin Sat, 10/09/2021 - 10:50

Friday, October 1, 2021

Original Publisher

Africa – Capital News

Original Article

2pc or less have had Covid jabs in many African nations: WHO

Brazzaville, Congo, Oct 1 – Just two percent of the population, or less, have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus in half of the countries in Africa, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

Fifteen of the continent’s 54 nations have managed to vaccinate at least 10 percent of their people, achieving the global goal for September 30, set in May by the World Health Assembly, the world’s highest health policy-setting body.

“The latest data shows modest gains but there is still a long way to go to reach the WHO target of fully vaccinating 40 percent of the population by the end of the year,” said Richard Mihigo, the World Health Organization’s vaccination coordinator in Africa.

Shipments of the vaccine have been increasing “but opaque delivery plans are still the number one nuisance that hold Africa back,” said Mihigo.

A total of 23 million vaccine doses arrived in Africa in September, a 10-fold increase from June.

Half of the 52 African countries that have received COVID-19 vaccines have fully vaccinated just two percent or less of their populations, the WHO said.

Most of the African countries that have met, or bettered the 10 percent goal have relatively small populations.

The islands of Mauritius and the Seychelles have managed to fully vaccinate over 60 percent of their populations, according to the WHO data.

In Morocco, 48 percent of the population have received two Covid-19 jabs while the figures are above 20 percent in Tunisia, Comoros and Cape Verde.

“All these countries have enjoyed sufficient supplies of vaccines, and many could access doses from separate sources in addition to those delivered through the global Covax facility,” the WHO said.

Covid-19 case numbers in Africa dropped by 35 percent to just over 74,000 in the week to September 26.

Almost 1,800 deaths were reported across 34 African countries in the same period.

“Despite the declining case numbers we must all remain vigilant and continue to adhere to the proven public health and safety measures that we know save lives, such as wearing a mask, washing our hands regularly and physical distancing, especially while vaccination rates remain low,” Mihigo told a virtual press conference.

Africa

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COE declares three provinces on green alert for possible effects of Hurricane Sam

admin — Sat, 02 Oct 2021 00:00:01 +0000

COE declares three provinces on green alert for possible effects of Hurricane Sam

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admin Sat, 10/02/2021 - 00:00

Thursday, September 30, 2021

Original Publisher

Local – Dominican Today

Original Article

COE declares three provinces on green alert for possible effects of Hurricane S…

The National Emergency Center (COE) has placed three provinces on green alert for possible flooding of rivers, streams, and creeks, as well as flash or urban flooding associated with Hurricane Sam.

The provinces on green alert are: Hato Mayor, Monte Plata and Monseñor Nouel.

According to the National Meteorological Office, Hurricane Sam is distant from the Dominican territory; however, it will drag cloudiness towards the country, combining with the low-pressure trough in the middle and upper troposphere.

Therefore, according to the agency, it will cause moderate to locally heavy downpours with thunderstorms and gusty winds at times over the northeast, southeast (including Greater Santo Domingo), northwest, Central Cordillera, and the border area in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, they report that they continue to monitor Sam, which carries a category 4, with maximum sustained winds of 230 km/h, located about 555 kilometers east/northeast of the Lesser Antilles and moving to the northwest at about 19 km/h. “This system does not represent danger to the country.”

The agency also reported that it observes tropical storm Victor with maximum sustained winds of 75 km/h, located about 885 km south/southwest of the Cape Verde Islands and moving west/northwest at about 20 km/h.

A large area of low pressure, located in the middle of the tropical Atlantic, between the Lesser Antilles and the Cape Verde Islands, with a 30% chance of becoming a tropical cyclone.

Likewise, he specified that, for tomorrow, Friday, Hurricane Sam will remain to the north in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean; however, it will induce a trough in the low levels of the troposphere.

It will be interacting with the trough at high levels, causing again in the afternoon showers that could be locally moderate with thunderstorms and gusty winds at times towards the northeast, southeast, northwest, Central Cordillera, and the border area.

Onamet adds that temperatures will remain hot due to the humid and warm wind from the east/southeast; we recommend the population drink enough fluids, preferably water, and avoid prolonged exposure to the sun from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Caribbean

News

Origin of Papiamento- Aruba’s native language

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 16:50:01 +0000

Origin of Papiamento- Aruba’s native language

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admin Mon, 03/01/2021 - 16:50

Monday, March 1, 2021

Original Publisher

LOCAL – Aruba Today

Original Article

Origin of Papiamento- Aruba’s native language

Papiamento is not direct from Portuguese, Galician or Castilian, it is from the Cape Verde Creole family (Cape Verdean language).

The post Origin of Papiamento- Aruba’s native language appeared first on Aruba Today.

Caribbean

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Mozambique sees militia violence dwindle as military gains steam

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 17:30:01 +0000

Mozambique sees militia violence dwindle as military gains steam admin Tue, 02/09/2021 - 17:30

Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Original Publisher

Africa – Capital News

Original Article

Mozambique sees militia violence dwindle as military gains steam

Maputo, Mozambique, Feb 9 – Islamist attacks in Mozambique’s remote north have become less frequent and violent in recent weeks, a trend that analysts attribute in part to scaled-up counter-insurgency tactics.

Shadowy jihadists affiliated to the so-called Islamic State group have wreaked havoc in the gas-rich but impoverished Cabo Delgado province since 2017.

Their attacks rocketed last year, triggering a humanitarian crisis akin to the end of Mozambique’s 1977-1992 civil war.

More than half of the roughly 800 assaults documented by US conflict tracker ACLED since 2017 took place last year alone, defying government efforts to boost its military presence in the area.

At least 2,500 people have been killed and more than half a million displaced in over three years, many of them impoverished villagers, according to ACLED and government figures.

But recent figures tentatively suggest intensified ground and air strikes are starting to bear fruit.

ACLED only registered around 10 militant strikes in January, down from about 30 in December.

“We are seeing a success of the government forces’ offensive strategy,” Calton Cadeado, a security researcher at the Joaquim Chissano University in Maputo told AFP.

The insurgents are also thought to be running low on supplies, according to analysts and military sources.

– Gas projects ‘on track’ –

The Cabo Delgado incursions have played out around a multi-billion-dollar liquid natural gas (LNG) exploration project off the Afungi peninsula, raising concern among project developers.

Jihadists remain in control of Mocimboa da Praia, a port used as a supply point for gas exploration before it was seized in August.

French oil giant Total evacuated workers in December after clashes broke out at the doorstep of its LNG facility.

Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne on Tuesday insisted the gas project was still “on track” to start production as planned in 2024.

“The security situation is problematic because jihadist groups got to within less than 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) from the site,” Pouyanne said at a press briefing.

He added that Mozambican authorities had since agreed to provide a 25-km protection radius.

Government troops last month launched a series of air strikes on Palma district, the gas project’s land hub, which they said killed several militants.

Soldiers on foot also killed an unknown number of suspected jihadists found hiding in a mosque, according to ACLED.

Civilian casualties were not mentioned, however, despite reports of insurgents using residents are human shields.

Rights groups have accused the military of manhandling civilians and indiscriminately killing anyone suspected of collaborating with the Islamist group, locally known as Al-Shabab.

But Cadeado noted the relationship between soldiers and locals had lately “improved a lot,” helping military intelligence.

– Supply lines choked? –

Surfing on the back of the recent advances, President Filipe Nyusi this month offered amnesty to insurgents wishing to surrender their arms.

He assured the authorities would “do everything to receive you safely, and guarantee your reintegration” into society.

African history expert Eric Morier-Genoud said amnesty offers can be effective but stand more chance of success when “insurgents are weakened or divided”.

He warned that it was still too early to celebrate the observed drop in violence.

“It is possible that the insurgents will lose ground,” said Morier-Genoud. “But it is also possible that they will try to extend their range into another province.”

Some analysts suspect the militants may be re-strategizing and shifting away from rural attacks and towards the high-profile gas project.

“The worst scenario would be for them to scale back wider attacks but strike the heart of the LNG complex,” said Cadeado.

If so, that plan faced a logistical challenge — better-patrolled roads and sea routes had helped to crimp the insurgents’ supply lines.

In addition, stores of weapons and ammunition seized from army bases have run down because of the militants’ accelerated offensive last year, Cadeado suggested.

Another problem was that the violence had crippled agriculture, which in turn created a supply headache for the rebels.

“Where do you get food if there are no people producing it in the area at this point?” Cadeado asked. “There is no war without supplies, without logistics.”

Military sources added that several groups had been to retreat from villages and into the surrounding bush, where foraging for food is tough

Africa

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Nigeria Pre-qualified for COVID-19 Vaccines, Not Disqualified, Says WHO

admin — Sun, 07 Feb 2021 09:30:01 +0000

Nigeria Pre-qualified for COVID-19 Vaccines, Not Disqualified, Says WHO admin Sun, 02/07/2021 - 09:30

Sunday, February 7, 2021

Original Publisher

THISDAYLIVE

Original Article

Nigeria Pre-qualified for COVID-19 Vaccines, Not Disqualified, Says WHO

•Country to get 16m doses of AstraZeneca vaccines
•Israeli hospital allegedly finds cure for virus

Deji Elumoye and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said Nigeria is among countries pre-qualified to access COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX facility. WHO said contrary to reports about the exclusion of Nigeria from vaccine deployment, the country was among the nine countries recommended as ready to deploy the Pfizer vaccine. It also disclosed that all countries on the continent were expected to start accessing the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines by the end of February.

The clarification came as the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) on Saturday expressed readiness to begin the development and production of vaccines to tackle coronavirus locally.

Nigeria’s reported disqualification from deployment of COVAX Vaccine had sparked public concern, necessitating a statement from WHO to put the record straight.
Addressing a joint press conference by WHO and Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Country Representative of the world health body, Dr. Walter Molumbo, debunked reports that Nigeria and some other countries on the continent had been disqualified from assessing the vaccine due to unpreparedness.

Molumbo said, “WHO has not disqualified any country in Africa from accessing COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX facility, but rather, is supporting all countries to access vaccines as quickly as possible.”

Of the 88 million Astra Zeneca doses allocated to African countries for the first phase, Nigeria has received by far the largest allocation, with 16 million doses, Molumbo said.
WHO said the vaccine was under review for Emergency Use Listing, adding that the outcome was expected soon.

Molumbo explained that in addition to the Astra Zeneca doses, there was an initial limited volume of Pfizer vaccine available through COVAX. He said the demand for the initial allocation of 1.2 million Pfizer doses was exceptionally high.

According to him, “COVAX received interest from 72 countries around the world, of which 51 countries were considered by the review committee as ‘ready’ (Nigeria was among these countries) and 18 countries in total were finally chosen to receive initial Pfizer doses.
“On the Africa continent, as of the 18 January deadline, COVAX received 13 submissions and a multi-agency committee evaluated the proposals of which 9 were recommended as ready to deploy the Pfizer vaccine including Nigeria.

“Unfortunately, it was not feasible to provide each of these 51 countries with Pfizer doses, due to a number of factors including the limited capacity for Pfizer to handle many countries at once. Therefore, spreading the limited doses across all the 51 countries deemed ‘ready’ could have not achieved the intended public health benefit.”

Molumbo further explained that after epidemiological data was taken into account, “The decision was taken to proportionally balance the number of self-financing and AMC Participants, as well as Participants across all 6 WHO regions.”

WHO was reported to have announced the commencement of shipment of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to African countries, including Cape Verde, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tunisia. The world body said about 320,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which has already received WHO emergency use, would be deployed to the four countries this month.

Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, said the clarification by WHO had become necessary to ensure Nigeria was not brought to ridicule.
Shuaib said, “As clearly stated by the WHO Regional Director, there are a number of factors that were considered in allocating the small quantity of the 320,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine to Covax countries.

“These include the mortality rates from COVID-19, the number of new cases, the trend in the number of cases, the population of countries and the availability of the appropriate Cold Chain equipment.”

He said countries, such as South Africa, which received the Pfizer allocation, had a new strain of the COVID-19 virus and the highest mortality rates and was struggling to contain its transmission. Shuaib explained that giving smaller countries such as Cape Verde and Rwanda few doses of the Pfizer vaccine would have a larger public health implication considering their population size.

He stated, “100,000 doses to Nigeria, we have all agreed would have been a drop in the ocean. So, it is a welcome development that we are receiving 16 million doses of the Astrazeneca vaccine to replace the Pfizer vaccine in the same month of February. The 16 million doses will invariably help us reach more of our population and is suited to our existing cold chain system.”

Meanwhile, AMLSN has expressed readiness to begin the development and production of vaccines to tackle coronavirus.
Addressing newsmen at the end of an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Saturday in Abuja, National President of AMLSN, Professor James Damen, said members of the group had the capacity to deliver on local vaccines.

While commending the efforts of the federal government in sourcing and strengthening local vaccine production, he advised that incoming foreign vaccines must be subjected to further validation by relevant indigenous bodies to ensure their safety and effectiveness in Nigeria.

Damen stated, “Imported vaccines must be such that will be easily adaptable in our clime in view of our peculiar weather. The said vaccine(s) must also be subjected to in-country validation procedures to ascertain their safety and effectiveness in line with international best practices.