(Posted 19th October 2022)
U.S.-AFRICA RELATIONS
United States (U.S.) AFRICOM Commander Makes First Visit to Morocco, Praises United States (U.S.)-Morocco Security Partnership
African Business
U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Michael Langley, the highest-ranking U.S. military official focused on Africa, praised the strength of the U.S.-Morocco security partnership during his first visit to the Kingdom since becoming the head of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) in August… Read more>>
USTDA Advances Healthcare in Nigeria
U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency announced that it has awarded a grant to Nigeria’s Lily Hospitals Limited for a feasibility study to support the refurbishment and operation of 10 healthcare facilities in Nigeria. These facilities, located in multiple urban hubs across the country, will serve up to 25,000 patients annually. Lily selected Maryland-based Anadach Consulting Group, LLC, to conduct the study… Read more>>
The U.S. Response to Ebola Outbreaks in Uganda
CDC Newsroom
As part of the U.S.’s efforts to address this outbreak with the international community, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Agency for International Aid and Development (USAID) are working closely with public health departments, public health laboratories, and healthcare workers throughout the U.S., Uganda, and neighboring countries to raise awareness and address this outbreak… Read more>>
AGRIBUSINESS
Putting Africa at the Heart of Food Security and Climate Resilience
World Bank
As the impacts of climate change continue to intensify and global shocks upend business as usual, Sub-Saharan Africa is feeling the brunt of what has been coined “the perfect storm” – a food, fuel, and fertilizer crisis exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, scarring effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, soaring inflation, rising debt, and extreme weather… Read more>>
The African Development Bank Group’s $140,000 AgriPitch Competition invites youth agripreneurs to virtual information session on how to win seed funding and training
African Development Bank
The African Development Bank will host an online seminar to encourage African young entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector – or “agripreneurs” – to enter the Bank’s AgriPitch competition. AgriPitch is a platform where the continent’s top agripreneurs vie for a share of $140,000 in seed funding prizes, a slot in the competition’s business development boot camp, as well as receive mentoring and training… Read more>>
40 pc of Meru’s population at risk of starving due to drought
Nation
Over 600,000 people in Meru County are in dire need of food, up from 400,000 a month ago as the effects of drought bite. This means 40 per cent of the county’s 1.5 million people are at risk of starvation… Read more>>
Global Inflation causing ‘horrifying’ food insecurity says IMF Africa head
Reuters
Africa’s central banks are walking a tightrope trying to curb inflation that is mostly out of their control and causing “horrifying” food insecurity, the IMF’s Africa head warned. The IMF’s twice-yearly Regional Economic Outlook released on Friday warned that 123 million people, or 12% of sub-Saharan Africa’s population, face acute food insecurity – where the lack of access to adequate food puts someone’s life or livelihood in immediate danger – by the end of the year… Read more>>
ENERGY
African Energy Week 2022 Kicks Off with Powerful Opening Remarks by Industry Leaders
African Business
The 2022 edition of African Energy Week – the biggest gathering of energy stakeholders and policymakers on the continent – kicked off to an electric start with a suite of opening remarks delivered by industry leaders and movers and shakers from across the African energy landscape… Read more>>
$4.6 billion plant in South Africa will make ‘the fuel of the future’
CNN
In Nelson Mandela Bay, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, thousands of hectares of land could one day become the world’s largest green ammonia plant… Read more>>
South Africa’s Eskom land parcel deal to drive $2.2 bln investment in renewables
Zawya
South Africa’s utility provider Eskom has signed a commercial lease and land use agreements with four independent power producer investors to develop clean energy projects, News24 portal reported… Read more>>
HEALTH
Africa Development Bank head urges multilateral development banks to drive healthcare financing
African Development Bank
African health ministers attending a high-level meeting following the Ebola outbreak in Uganda want two regional health bodies to set up an Africa Ebola co-ordination task force… Read more>>
Uganda has locked own two districts in a bid to stem the spread of Ebola
NPR
Ugandan authorities on Saturday imposed a travel lockdown on two Ebola-hit districts as part of efforts to stop the spread of the contagious disease. The measures announced by President Yoweri Museveni mean residents of the central Ugandan districts of Mubende and Kassanda can’t travel into or out of those areas by private or public means. Cargo vehicles and others transiting from Kampala, the capital, to southwestern Uganda are still allowed to operate, he said… Read more>>
INFRASTRUCTURE
USTDA, Mobihealth Partner on African Telehealth Infrastructure
African Development Bank
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency announced that it has awarded a grant to Nigeria’s Mobihealthcare Limited (Mobihealth) for a feasibility study to support the expansion of its telehealth services from Nigeria to Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, and Egypt. This collaborative effort will help expand healthcare access for 100,000 individuals per year across Africa…Read more>>
The Next Wave: How Africa’s digital infrastructure gap manifests
Techcabal
Africa lacks the infrastructure it needs to create a sustainable digital economy even as its ecosystem manifests as a dependent outcrop of developed digital economies elsewhere. It is a new form of colonisation, but even this digital colony is nothing like activists make it out to be. It is self-imposed; only coordinated ambition can change this… Read more>>
South Africa’s biggest cities are out of water, but the dams are full: what’s gone wrong
The Conversation
South Africa’s major cities in the Gauteng Province – the country’s economic heartland – are experiencing major water shortages. In Johannesburg and Tshwane taps have run dry, with numerous areas experiencing intermittent supply while some areas have no water at all… Read more>>
ICT
Rwanda To Host First Mobile World Congress In Africa
KT Press
Rwanda is set to host the first Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) Mobile World Congress (MWC), a meeting that is coming to Africa for the first time… Read more>>
Safaricom cements role in Kenya economy with 1.1 million jobs
Business Daily
Safaricom’s operations generated more than 1.1 million jobs directly and indirectly at last year when it deepened its contribution to Kenya’s economy, a study by consulting firm KPMG shows.The report, which was commissioned by Safaricom, shows that the telecommunications company’s voice, data and M-Pesa business generated the direct and indirect jobs through its products and services such as airtime dealers, M-Pesa agents and distributors… Read more>>
Tech startups funding in Nigeria, other drop from $1.2bn to $367m
The Guardian Nigeria
Funding for technology startups in Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya among other African countries dropped in quarter three. Data from CB Insights revealed that venture capital flows into African start-ups fell to $ 367 million for the third quarter of September, compared to the second quarter of June. Funding in the comparative quarter of 2021 amounted to $1.2-billion… Read more>>
TOURISM
UNWTO, Ojimah partner to drive tourism recovery in Africa
BizCommunity
The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and sustainability-focused travel technology platform, Ojimah have partnered to make positive storytelling and digitalisation key drivers of African tourism recovery. As a multichannel platform with reach across the continent, Ojimah will advocate for ‘Brand Africa’, enhancing the image of the region on the global stage through positive stories from across the tourism sector… Read more>>
Lai Mohammed Canvasses Seamless African Air Connectivity
This Day Live
Tourism stakeholders have long sought for seamless travel across the West African sub-region. Many complain that travel within the region is not only stressful but it’s also expensive. The issue was recently in the front burner again at the 65th Meeting of the UNWTO-CAF in Arusha, Tanzania… Read more>>
