Mauritania

Mastercard, Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, and JSI partner with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health to implement Wellness Pass for the digitization of health records

admin — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 14:20:01 +0000

Mastercard, Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, and JSI partner with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health to implement Wellness Pass for the digitization of health records

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admin Sun, 06/19/2022 - 14:20

Friday, June 17, 2022

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Health Archives - Liberia news The New Dawn Liberia, premier resource for lates…

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Mastercard, Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, and JSI partner with the Ethiopian Mini…

Mastercard, Gavi, the Ethiopia Ministry of Health and JSI announce their partnership to implement the Mastercard Wellness Pass solution within Ethiopia’s health information system and aim to bring efficiency to healthcare tracking and offline portability of health records in the most marginalized communities
Mastercard Wellness Pass will be implemented at selected health facilities throughout the country – including in urban, rural, and pastoral locations – over a 15-month pilot period

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, 17 June 2022, /African Media Agency/- In many low- and middle-income countries, patient healthcare data is currently fragmented and largely collected, recorded, and stored in paper-based systems. The manual healthcare system can cause siloed medical records, limited patient verification, lack of accessibility and offline portability, and results in an inability to aggregate and report data efficiently.

This is why Mastercard, Gavi, the Ethiopia Ministry of Health and JSI today have announced a partnership to implement the Mastercard Wellness Pass solution within Ethiopia’s health information system, with the aim of bringing efficiency to healthcare tracking and offline portability of health records in the most marginalized communities.

Wellness Pass is an interoperable and offline portable healthcare credential – accessible within a trusted network that creates continuity of care by allowing a patient’s medical data to be stored offline and travel with them on their Mastercard Community Pass chip card, which every patient receives from participating health facilities when they get their first vaccine or health service. For clinicians, Wellness Pass ensures that the vaccination records are available any time through participating health facilities, regardless of connectivity, and utilizes tokenized biometrics to verify service delivery and adhere to vaccination cycles.

This progressive initiative by the Ministry of Health is just one piece in the larger Information Revolution Agenda, an ambitious component of the Health Sector Transformation Plan that seeks to improve the availability, accessibility, affordability, and quality of primary health care, thereby improving health and wellbeing of the Ethiopian population.

The partnership aims to implement the Wellness Pass technology through several phases. Phase one of the implementation will be focused on Covid-19 vaccination tracking and will be deployed at health facilities throughout the country, including both urban and rural locations, over a 15-month period. Phase two plans to scale the use of Wellness Pass across multiple health care programs, to be determined in partnership with the Ministry of Health.

Creating efficiencies by improving health data accessibility

Mastercard’s Wellness Pass in Ethiopia is the second implementation on the continent, after the launch in Mauritania, which aims to digitize the childhood immunization program to ensure consistent and improved service delivery to parents and children across health facilities and to ensure that government and health partners can access trusted data in an aggregated form to inform policy and decision making.

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and Mastercard have been partnered since 2018, to deploy the Mastercard Wellness Pass to eligible countries, with the aim to not only deliver vaccines to millions of individuals, but also, using Mastercard’s technology, enable digitization of health records in the form of contactless cards.

“Ensuring the equitable distribution of vaccines is critical for the world to emerge from this pandemic, and it will take a collective response by the public and private sector. Working together with Gavi, the Ethiopia Ministry of Health and JSI, this partnership will allow us to bring private sector technology and capabilities to the table to support efforts to make sure that everyone has access to critical health care and that that care is delivered in an efficient and effective manner,” says Michael Froman, Vice Chairman and President of Strategic Growth, Mastercard.

“The digitisation of vaccination records through the Mastercard Wellness Pass enables us to reach and to continue to care for patients with vital health services such as immunisation. Innovative partnerships such as this help us to improve access to care so that everyone receives the essential vaccines they need to survive and thrive,” says Marie-Ange Saraka-Yao, Gavi’s Managing Director of Resource Mobilisation, Private Sector Partnerships & Innovative Finance, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

This digital technology will support Ethiopia’s national health response program by enabling the continuity of patient care through the portability of digitized health records. These will be in the form of contactless cards for patients that can be used by health facilities in both connected and offline environments. The portable health credentials will improve healthcare by decentralizing patient record keeping and facilitating better recording, tracking, and patient adherence to vaccination cycles. This will benefit not only the patient, but also healthcare service providers, and the Ministry of Health.

“Lack of healthcare data portability has a definite impact on the levels of service utilisation and health outcomes among people in different geographical areas and socio-economic groups. Therefore, it is very important to solve this great challenge, and it will take a collective response by public and private sectors to reach the necessary scale, and this is why we are excited about this new partnership, one that is designed to enable us to provide the best possible care to our citizens, regardless of where they are,” says Dr Lia Tadesse from Ministry of Health.

Africa

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

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Social – Ethiopian News Agency

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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

African Heads of State Call for an Ambitious Replenishment of the IDA20 to Support Their Recovery Agenda

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 09:40:01 +0000

African Heads of State Call for an Ambitious Replenishment of the IDA20 to Support Their Recovery Agenda

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admin Tue, 07/27/2021 - 09:40

Friday, July 16, 2021

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Business – FrontPageAfrica

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African Heads of State Call for an Ambitious Replenishment of the IDA20 to Supp…

ABIDJAN – Thirteen African Heads of State and governments concluded their one-day meeting in Abidjan today with a strong resolution to accelerate economic recovery from the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, scale-up investments in human capital, and increase their job creation efforts. They called for a robust twentieth replenishment of the World Bank Group’s International Development Association (IDA20) to support these efforts.

In a joint declaration endorsed at the meeting, the Heads of State emphasized that economic recovery, job creation, and investments in human capital – including expanding access to vaccines – are critical to help people recover from the shocks of the pandemic, get out of extreme poverty, and build a more resilient and inclusive future.

“The funding process that begins in Abidjan this week, will conclude at the end of this year with a policy and financial package to support specific projects in the 74 IDA countries over the next three years. The goal to mobilize an IDA20 replenishment envelope of at least $100 billion, for three years, would be the largest amount raised in IDA’s history. This is a good opportunity to demonstrate that solidarity is effectively essential for the good of all and that we can act together to return to the path of income convergence that we were on prior to the pandemic and build a safer and prosperous world,” said President Alassane Ouattara of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire. “We know that when the World Bank has the backing of all its stakeholders, it has the capacity and oversight to make a difference.”

On jobs, the leaders committed to job creation efforts by developing the private sector, with emphasis on improving productivity through broad based digitalisation, mechanisation, African manufacturing – including vaccines, and improved access to finance and better business environment.

On human capital, the leaders called for education systems that support the acquisition and use of skills needed for the jobs of tomorrow, and resilient health systems, adaptive safety nets and service delivery systems. On economic recovery, the Heads of State expressed their determination to support structural and spatial transformation of economies, through better economic diversification and regional development within countries and regions, coupled with macroeconomic stability with special attention to public debt sustainability, security and peacekeeping issues, as well as better preparedness to protect economies and populations from various crises.

Acknowledging the high financing volumes needed to match the level of ambition of their development agenda, the leaders highlighted the importance of maximising both domestic and external financing resources. They observed that with the continent’s additional financing needs estimated at

$285 billion over the next five years, to fight the pandemic, climate change, and accelerate economic recovery, their enhanced domestic resource mobilization efforts would fall short. They therefore called for an earlier IDA20 replenishment of at least $100 billion by the end of 2021 to meet with aspirations for the continent.

“Today we heard from the Heads of State how this pandemic has affected their countries and their need for stable future financing to meet their development ambitions. IDA is a big part of financing and recovery solutions for all these countries,” said Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank Managing Director for Operations. “An ambitious IDA20 will be a powerful force helping countries with a green and inclusive recovery to get back to the 2030 goals.”

The meeting was attended by leaders of Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritania, Madagascar, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda, as well as Heads of regional commissions including the West African Economic and Monetary Union, Economic Commission for West Africa, Central African Economic and Monetary Community, and the African Union. The meeting was also attended by World Bank Group leadership and representatives of IDA donor governments.

About IDA

The International Development Association (IDA) is one of the largest sources of funding for fighting extreme poverty in the world’s lowest income countries. IDA provides zero- or low-interest loans and grants to countries for projects and programs that boost economic growth, build resilience, and improve the lives of poor people around the world. Since 1960, IDA has provided about $422 billion for investments in 114 countries. As an institution of the World Bank Group, IDA combines global expertise with an exclusive focus on reducing poverty and boosting prosperity in the world’s lowest income countries. Learn more online: IDA.worldbank.org. #IDAworks4Africa

The post African Heads of State Call for an Ambitious Replenishment of the IDA20 to Support Their Recovery Agenda appeared first on FrontPageAfrica.

Africa

Business

Inside QNet Pyramid Scam Scheme

admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 12:50:02 +0000

Inside QNet Pyramid Scam Scheme

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admin Wed, 07/21/2021 - 12:50

Monday, July 12, 2021

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Foroyaa Newspaper

Original Article

Inside QNet Pyramid Scam Scheme

By Yankuba Jallow

In what looks like a daylight robbery, Foroyaa’s four months investigation has found a global e-marketing group operating in The Gambia amassing wealth from Gambians, including innocent students.

Dubbed QNet, the company does this under the ploy that they organize “Business Management” with the promise to give the students what they refer to as “International Certificate”.

In this piece, we unveil the untold stories of many Gambians, including students who became victims of QNet’s alleged financial fraud.

This pyramid-like-scheme trapped Gambians into luring fellow Gambians to venture into a business dubious in toto; yet persisting because most victims were swayed into the business by those they trusted.

It may seem like a movie-like-script, but these scenes didn’t come from Hollywood. The setting is in the smallest country in mainland Africa- The Gambia, home to little over two million people, many of whom struggle daily to make ends meet.

Victim 1:

EnterFatima Bah, a teacher at Sinchu Baliya Lower Basic School. Bah was introduced to QNet by her colleague teacher, Mariama Njie, who was in the business.

Her friend, Njie, told her she will introduce her to something that has the potential for her to get rid of poverty. Anxious due her condition and that of the family (taking care of her mother from her little earnings from teaching) Bah would agree to hear the offer.

At the meeting with her friend together with QNet officials at the QNet office, formerly at Kairaba Avenue, Bah said she was told to make payment of any of the following; D36,000, D37,000 or D38,000.

“I was never convinced about their business. Mariama would come to my house every day trying to convince me to join but I told her I cannot join because I am the breadwinner of my family,” she recalled. “I told her my salary is very little and I cannot pay for it. She insisted that if I join I will get out of poverty.”

But Bah’s colleague, Njie, was persistent. She suggested to her to take a loan from the bank to make her payment. Bah declined owing to the fact that at the time, she had a loan with the teachers’ credit union which she was struggling to pay. Nonetheless, adamant Njie would come to her every weekend persuading her to join the business. And she said Njie got her a guarantor at the bank to secure a loan of D38,000 because she was not saving with them.

“I received a loan of D38,000 from GTBank which I handed over to Mariama. I was called at the QNet office where they explained the business to me further but I told them I am not interested,” she said. “Honestly, I am suffering. She really disturbed me. The bank is deducting me D1870 every month and I am the breadwinner of my family.”

Bah said the deduction began in October 2018 and would last for 3 years. She said she does not know the whereabouts of Njie as she always calls her but she wouldn’t pick the calls. In a bid to upkeep her personal and family needs plus repayment of the bank loan, Bah now teaches in double shifts from Monday to Friday.

“I want to apply to college but I can’t do that now. I am facing serious challenges. I am in a tough time,” she said.

Njie, whom Bah accused of luring her into the business, was contacted by Foroyaa for comment. She told us this: “I don’t have anything to do with QNet. Go to QNet and ask them questions.”

What We Know About QNet?

The Quality Networking Entrusted Transactions (QNET) is an e-commerce company that operates under the Infinity Millennial with offices across the country, including Abuko, Farato and as far as Basse in Upper River Region. Founded in 1998 in Asia and introduced in Africa around 2008, QNET has three registered groups in The Gambia using different names.

The first one is Q-Net Company registered by one Gambian national Wurri Sidibeh, to sell watches and jewelleries on the 27th July 2017. The second one is QUESTNET Gambia Limited registered on the 8th December 2017. QUESTNET company director is Abubakar Marico who owns 85% of the shares, Muhammed Sillah owns 5% of the shares, Abubakar Marico (a Burkinabe) owns 5% of the shares and Kawon Jikineh owns 5% of the shares. The third is QNET registered on the 21st November 2017 by one Sulayman Jallow.

The Registrar of Companies informed Foroyaa that none of the three companies have filed their annual returns since registration in 2017.

Dr Gibril Jaw, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority, said his office does not give any license to QNet to provide any training or classes for people. He said NAQAA regulates education and training for post-secondary level up to doctorate degree.

“There is nothing like QNet in our database. So, it is not part of institutions accredited by NAQAA,” Dr Jaw said.

The doctorate degree holder took time to advise all learners to always consult with NAQAA before they register, saying they are here to protect the interest of people. He said NAQAA will treat the issue of QNet with seriousness.

“NAQAA does not know QNet. There was no license issued to QNet. I have the list of institutions, but QNet is not part of it,” he said. “Before anybody registers, it is better to seek advice from NAQAA to see the status of the institution to know whether they are recognised and registered.”

He said NAQAA’s mandate extends to regulations of all post-secondary education levels as well as the informal sector through apprenticeship programmes.

“Online, face to face, sandwich and hybrid programmes are all regulated by NAQAA,” Dr Jaw said.

Africa

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France to meet Sahel leaders as it mulls troop drawdown

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 08:00:01 +0000

France to meet Sahel leaders as it mulls troop drawdown

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admin Mon, 02/15/2021 - 08:00

Monday, February 15, 2021

Original Publisher

Africa – Capital News

Original Article

France to meet Sahel leaders as it mulls troop drawdown

N’Djamena, Chad, Feb 15 – France and five allies gather on Monday to discuss the Sahel’s jihadist insurgency, with Paris looking for support enabling it to cut French troop numbers in the strife-torn region.

Leaders of the so-called G5 Sahel — Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger — are to attend the two-day summit in the Chadian capital N’Djamena, with French President Emmanuel Macron attending via videolink.

The meeting comes a year after France boosted its Sahel deployment, seeking to wrench back momentum in the brutal, long-running battle.

But despite touted military successes, jihadists remain in control of vast swathes of territory and attacks are unrelenting.

Six UN peacekeepers have been killed in Mali this year alone, and France has lost five soldiers since December.

Map showing zones of influence by armed groups in the Sahel and regional military bases © AFP

Islamist fighters in the Sahel first emerged in northern Mali in 2012, during a rebellion by ethnic Touareg separatists which was later overtaken by the jihadists.

France intervened to rout the insurgents, but the jihadists scattered, taking their campaign into the ethnic powder keg of central Mali and then into Burkina Faso and Niger.

Thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed, according to the UN, while more than two million people have fled their homes.

The crushing toll has fuelled perceptions that the jihadists cannot be defeated by military means alone.

Jean-Herve Jezequel, Sahel director for the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank, told AFP that conventional military engagement had failed to deliver a knockout blow.

The jihadists “are capable of turning their backs, bypassing the system, and continuing,” he said.

Last Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called for a “diplomatic, political and development surge” to respond to the situation.

Last year, France upped its Barkhane mission in the Sahel from 4,500 troops to 5,100 — a move that precipitated a string of apparent military successes.

French forces killed the leader of the notorious Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Abdelmalek Droukdel, as well as a military chief of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM).

– Troop drawdown? –

But the latest attacks have also brought the number of French combat deaths in Mali to 50, prompting soul-searching at home about Barkhane’s cost and usefulness.

Macron last month opened the door to a drawdown, suggesting France may “adjust” its military commitment.

French losses: Defence Minister Florence Parly pays tribute to three soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in Mali in December © AFP / JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN

Despite persistent rumours, France is not expected to announce any troop withdrawal at N’Djamena.

Instead, to lighten the load, France is hoping for more military support from its European partners through the Takuba Task Force which assists Mali in its fight against jihadists.

The Sahel armies, for their part, are unable to pick up the slack.

In 2017, the five countries initiated a planned 5,000-man pooled force, but it remains hobbled by lack of funds, poor equipment and inadequate training.

Chad, which reputedly has the best armed forces among the five, promised a year ago to send a battalion to the “three border” flashpoint where the frontiers of Mali, Niger and Burkina converge. The deployment has still not happened.

Paris also hopes last year’s successes can strengthen political reform in the Sahel states, where weak governance has fuelled frustration and instability.

In Mali, the epicentre of the Sahel crisis, army officers overthrew president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita last August after weeks of protests over perceived corruption and his failure to end the jihadist conflict.

The interim government has pledged to reform the constitution and stage national elections, but critics say the pace of change is slow.

A 2015 regional deal between Mali’s government and northern rebel groups has also barely advanced, yet it is one of the country’s few options for escaping the violence.

Africa

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France struggling in Sahel ‘information war’

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 00:20:01 +0000

France struggling in Sahel ‘information war’

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admin Sat, 02/13/2021 - 00:20

Thursday, February 11, 2021

Original Publisher

Africa – Capital News

Original Article

France struggling in Sahel ‘information war’

Paris, France, Feb 11 – As well as suffering a spate of recent battlefield casualties in the Sahel, France risks losing the fight for hearts and minds in the strategic west African region.

Eight years since it deployed troops against jihadists in Mali, Paris is struggling to impose itself in a separate information war being waged for public opinion.

“Fighting against terrorism implies… protecting yourself during communication and disinformation wars targeting the local populations, which can change perceptions,” French Defence Minister Florence Parly said recently during a speech to special forces.

Part of the problem has been highlighted by recent events on the ground.

The French “Barkhane” force — made up of 5,100 troops — came under severe scrutiny in January after an air strike in a remote and largely inaccessible region in northern Mali.

More than a month later, the facts remain murky. Some locals have told journalists that up to 20 people attending a wedding in the village of Bounti were killed, while the French military insists that they targeted a gathering of jihadists.

“Once the French military becomes engaged with responding to accusations of civilian deaths and collateral damage, whether these allegations turn out to be accurate or not, it will already be perceived as a propaganda victory for the jihadists,” Colin Clarke from the Soufan Center, an American think-tank, told AFP.

But in addition to anti-French messages spread by jihadist groups — which fall on fertile ground in a region once colonised by France — Paris believes Russia is also behind a disinformation campaign about its activities in the region.

“The battle over Barkhane’s image is more important than any actual battle in this kind of conflict,” said Michael Shurkin, an analyst at the US-based security consultancy Rand.

“The French government and military have been slow to engage in ‘information warfare’,” he added, saying that “doing ‘propaganda’ makes the French military nervous.”

– ‘Trolling’ –

It may have been slow to catch on, but there is evidence that France is now taking action.

In December, Facebook said it had closed down two Russian-linked networks of fake troll accounts which sought to sway public opinion, as well as a third with “links to individuals associated with French military.”

The French defence ministry initially declined to comment, before saying that it could not attribute responsibility for the accounts.

But Alexandre Papaemmanuel, an intelligence specialist at the IEP research centre in France, believes some figures in the military were relieved to see France adopting the same tactics as its rivals.

“But to become tougher, should democracies follow the example of authoritarian regimes?” he asked. “It’s a slippery slope.”

Part of the problem for France may be that for many people living in the region, the results of Barkhane’s operations are difficult to see because the jihadists have dug in and keep launching attacks.

“The results are imperceptible for an average Malian,” said Denis Tull from the German Institute of International Relations (SWP).

He also blames French “arrogance” for the way leaders respond to local criticism.

“Any Malian criticism is seen as ingratitude and sparks irritation,” he said, adding that Paris “is in the process of losing the battle for public opinion almost everywhere in French-speaking Africa.”

The future of the Barkhane mission is set to be discussed at a summit in Chad on February 15-16 between the countries of the Sahel region — Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger — and France.

French President Emmanuel Macron is known to want to reduce France’s presence by sharing the burden of military operations with the countries of the region and fellow European partners.

A 13,000-strong UN force is also based in the Sahel, which suffered further casualties on Wednesday when 28 peacekeepers were wounded during an attack on their base in central Mali.

Africa

News

Mali peace deal signatories meet in former rebel city

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 00:20:01 +0000

Mali peace deal signatories meet in former rebel city

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admin Sat, 02/13/2021 - 00:20

Thursday, February 11, 2021

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Africa – Capital News

Original Article

Mali peace deal signatories meet in former rebel city

Kidal, Mali, Feb 11 – Signatories to a shaky peace deal deemed vital for ending conflict in Mali met on Thursday in the northern city of Kidal, a former rebel bastion, an AFP journalist said.

The city fell to Tuareg separatists in 2012, who captured much of the north of the Sahel state before jihadist groups commandeered their rebellion.

Islamist fighters have since expanded the conflict into central Mali as well as neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, killing thousands.

In a bid to curb the fighting, Mali in 2015 signed an accord in Algiers with several rebel groups — a deal viewed as one of the country’s few options for escaping the violence.

The agreement, among other things, saw rebel militias start cooperating with the army, and provides for decentralising governance in the vast nation of 19 million people.

But implementing the deal has been painfully slow: Malian troops only returned to Kidal last year, for example.

On Thursday, Algiers-accord signatories gathered in Kidal, in their first such meeting in the symbolic city.

Diplomats from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and Mali’s neighbour Algeria, also attended.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told attendees via videolink that the Kidal conference was evidence of a recent “positive dynamic” in tackling violence in the semi-arid Sahel region.

The meeting also comes ahead of a political summit in the Sahel.

The region’s former colonial power, France, the G5 Sahel — a military alliance comprising Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, Niger and Mali — are due to meet in Chad on February 15 and 16.

Africa

News

UN seeks $100 mn to aid African migrants en route to Europe

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2021 15:30:01 +0000

UN seeks $100 mn to aid African migrants en route to Europe admin Tue, 02/02/2021 - 15:30

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Original Publisher

Africa – Capital News

Original Article

UN seeks $100 mn to aid African migrants en route to Europe

Geneva, Switzerland, Jan 27 – The United Nations appealed Wednesday for $100 million to help it boost support for refugees fleeing escalating conflicts and crises in Africa embarking on risky migration routes to Europe.

The UN refugee agency voiced deep concern over swelling displacement from conflicts in Africa’s Sahel region, as well as in the East and Horn of Africa.

This, it said, was driving more people to attempt deadly crossings of the Mediterranean towards Europe, resulting in at least 1,064 deaths along the central and western crossing routes last year alone.

“UNHCR is seeking just over $100 million to enhance refugee protection in African countries en route to the Mediterranean,” the agency said in a statement.

“Offering safe and viable alternatives to the perilous journeys marred by abuse and deaths is the critical priority.”

Violence across the Sahel region, which stretches from Senegal through Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Sudan, has forced around 2.9 million people to flee their homes, according to the agency.

– ‘Harrowing’ –

“With no prospects for peace and stability in the region, further displacement is highly likely,” it warned, stressing that “many continue to attempt risky sea journeys to Europe.”

UNHCR pointed to driving factors for including protracted displacement, dire conditions in neighbouring countries where many had already attempted to seek shelter and the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The sea crossing itself is not the only dangerous part of the journey for many of the refugees and migrants trying to make their way to Europe.

“We hear harrowing first-hand accounts of brutality and abuses that refugees and migrants suffer along the routes towards the Mediterranean,” Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR’s special envoy for the situation in the Central Mediterranean, said in a statement.

“Many fall prey to traffickers and smugglers and are abused, extorted, raped, and sometimes killed or left to die.”

Cochetel stressed that many of those fleeing violence and persecution at home “have dire and urgent protection needs.”

“It is critical that they receive life-saving support and protection in the countries to which they initially flee,” he insisted.

UNHCR said that the money it was seeking was part of a new strategy aimed at increasing outreach, identification and assistance to refugees along the migration routes.

The agency said it also aimed to enhance access to education and livelihoods in countries of asylum.

It meanwhile reiterated its call to states to make it easier for refugees to move legally between countries, including through family reunification, to reduce their need to set off on dangerous land and sea journeys in the first place.

Africa

News

US Embassy in Dominican Rep. announces Charge d’Affaires

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2021 05:50:01 +0000

US Embassy in Dominican Rep. announces Charge d’Affaires admin Tue, 02/02/2021 - 05:50

Thursday, January 28, 2021

Original Publisher

Economy – Dominican Today

Original Article

US Embassy in Dominican Rep. announces Charge d’Affaires

Press Release

Santo Domingo.- On January 20th, 2021, Robert W. Thomas assumed the position of the Charge d’Affaires of the United States Embassy in Santo Domingo.

Mr. Thomas served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic since July 16, 2020, after serving three years as United States Consul General to Montreal, Canada.

A career Foreign Service Officer, Mr. Thomas has also served assignments abroad in Mexico, Côte d’Ivoire, Canada (twice), and Mauritania.

His domestic service includes multiple assignments in the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs and Executive Secretariat. He was also deployed as part of the Department’s crisis response team in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.

He completed his bachelor’s degrees in comparative religion and political science at Emory & Henry College, a small liberal-arts university in the Appalachian Mountains of southwestern Virginia. He speaks French and Spanish. He is accompanied at post by his husband, Mr. Juan Garcia.

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