Category: APO-OPA

NEW YORK, July 15, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Appointment of Presidential Adviser on Sexual Violence and Child Recruitment marks a new dawn in the fight against conflict-related sexual violence and child recruitment and use in the Democ…

GENEVA, Switzerland, July 15, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM’s 6th Return Intention Survey of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Bangui, Central African Republic, indicates a marked decline from May to June in IDPs’ perception of availability of public services such as schools, health services and markets in their neighbourhoods of origin.

The return intention survey was based on interviews with 601 IDPs carried out at 31 displacement sites from 17-19 June. The survey has been conducted on a monthly basis since January 2014 to track the needs and intentions of IDPs in Bangui.

Compared with the previous survey, IDPs’ needs to facilitate their return remain in almost the same order: security is the highest priority (33%), followed by housing (31%) and non-food relief items (13%.)

Just over half (56%) of respondents indicated an intention to return to their place of origin within the next four weeks. This figure has been gradually decreasing since the January survey when 74% of IDPs indicated an intention to return home within a month.

The number of displaced persons who want to stay at their displacement site increased from 27% in May to 36% in June. This is also a significant increase from February, when only 19% of displaced people wanted to stay at their displacement site.

IDPs’ also now perceive fewer public services to be available in their areas of origin. In comparison to the May survey, the percentage of respondents who reported that markets are open has decreased from 39% to 18%.

Reported availability of public services has also declined, including schools (from 20% to 15%), health centres (from 39% to 23%), and presence of civil servants (from 32% to 21%.) The reported presence of international military forces also decreased from 57% to 49%; as well as reported police/army patrols (from 25% to 20%).

“Lack of authorities” (68%) is now the second most frequently cited reason for not returning home. This figure has increased from 58% in the May survey. IDPs most frequently cited reason for not returning home is that all their belongings had been stolen (74%.) Other reasons included lack of financial means to return (66%), and not feeling safe in their area of origin (66%.)

All of these figures had been gradually increasing since January, but responses indicate that the gains were lost from May to June. These perceptions may be related to widespread protests and security incidents in Bangui at the end of May, especially in the 3rd and 5th districts, which caused the temporary closure of most remaining businesses and public services.

Food continues to be a critical issue. Some 97% of respondents reported a reduction in the number of meals per day; 97% reported a reduction in family member’s food consumption; and 89% reported a reduction in adults’ food consumption to feed children. 92% of IDPs said that they had experienced an interruption of income-generating activities due to displacement.

The number of IDPs country wide is now estimated at 535,000. According to the Commission on Population Movement there are currently 105,300 IDPs at some 42 displacement sites in Bangui. The IDP population has been gradually decreasing since late December, when there were over 500,000 IDPs in Bangui.

IDP return rates have slowed in the last few months as the IDPs remaining at the sites are the most vulnerable. Most have had their homes destroyed or do not have the financial means to return. Interventions are now urgently needed to ensure that long-term displacement does not become entrenched.

The Return Intention Survey is part of IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), designed to provide population movement dynamics and guide humanitarian response to crisis.

To access the CAR IDP Return Intention Surveys, please visit: http://carresponse.iom.int/

NEW YORK, July 15, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Agostinho Zacarias of Mozambique as his Deputy Special Representative ad interim for the United Nations Office…

DUBLIN, Ireland, July 15, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Minister for Trade and Development, Joe Costello, TD, today announced an additional €145,000 in funding to help fight the spread of the Ebola virus in West Africa.

The funding will be used to train health workers, provide protective health equipment, and support local Ministries of Health.

Minister Costello stressed the importance of the international response to the outbreak, saying:

“Sierra Leone and Liberia are partner countries for Ireland’s aid programme and we have already provided almost €230,000 to fight the disease in West Africa. This new funding will go to help the international efforts which are being coordinated by the World Health Organisation.

“There is serious concern about the spread of the regional outbreak to Sierra Leone and Liberia and the WHO has deployed 150 experts to west Africa to help prevent the further spread of the virus.

“The situation remains very precarious. Irish Aid and our Embassy in Freetown are closely monitoring the situation, and coordinating response efforts with Governments and other UN, EU and NGO partners.”

The funding announced today consists of €100,000 to the International Rescue Committee in Sierra Leone to help fund awareness training, training of health workers and protective gear and hygiene materials, and €44,350 to support the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Liberia to respond to the areas most in need.

Ireland has already also provided €85,000 to Concern Worldwide for their programme which aims to prevent the spread of Ebola through community awareness training and health and hygiene awareness in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, July 15, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO) (http://www.gemalto.com), the world leader in digital security, provides its support to the GSMA(1) pan-African mHealth Initiative (PAMI), a mobile ecosystem that aims to improve maternal and child health and nutrition in sub-Saharan Africa. Acting as one of the first leading partners in this ambitious undertaking, Gemalto is contributing its digital security expertise to two key mHealth programs: the United Nations Every Women Every Child Global Strategy and the Global Nutrition for Growth Compact.

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Photo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/photos/140715.jpg

GSMA’s PAMI brings together stakeholders from the mobile and health industries, as well as from the public sector. The project will leverage a wide range of communications products, solutions and infrastructures to deliver sustainable and effective mHealth support that meets the needs of over 15 million pregnant women and mothers with children under five years old.

The first phase of the initiative will be launched across seven countries (Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia) in September 2014, extending to a further four (Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania) in early 2015.

Gemalto will help bring mHealth and nutrition services to the masses dynamically through its advanced SmartMessage interactive messaging solution, leveraging its existing relationships with mobile operators across the region. The aim is to simplify the relationships between patients and health stakeholders to deliver targeted nutritional and health advice via mobile phones.

“As the world is becoming ever more digital and wireless, we are thrilled to see our solutions being used to support a noble social cause with this initiative”, commented Philippe Vallée, Chief Operating Officer at Gemalto. “There can surely be no clearer illustration of the potential of mobile solutions to fundamentally change the expectations and outcomes of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa.”

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of Gemalto.

(1) The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Spanning more than 220 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators with more than 250 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers and Internet companies, as well as organisations in industry sectors such as financial services, healthcare, media, transport and utilities. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as the Mobile World Congress and Mobile Asia Expo.

Gemalto Media Contacts:

Kristel Teyras

Middle East & Africa

+33 1 55 01 57 89

kristel.teyras@gemalto.com

Contact Gemalto’s media relations in your region: http://www.gemalto.com/press/index.html

About Gemalto

Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO) is the world leader in digital security (http://www.gemalto.com/companyinfo/digital_security.html) with 2013 annual revenues of €2.4 billion and more than 12,000 employees operating out of 85 offices and 25 research and software development centers, located in 44 countries.

We are at the heart of the rapidly evolving digital society. Billions of people worldwide increasingly want the freedom to communicate, travel, shop, bank, entertain and work – anytime, everywhere – in ways that are enjoyable and safe. Gemalto delivers on their expanding needs for personal mobile services, payment security, authenticated cloud access, identity and privacy protection, eHealthcare and eGovernment efficiency, convenient ticketing and dependable machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. We develop secure embedded software and secure products which we design and personalize. Our platforms and services manage these products, the confidential data they contain and the trusted end-user services made possible.

Our innovations enable our clients to offer trusted and convenient digital services to billions of individuals. Gemalto thrives with the growing number of people using its solutions to interact with the digital and wireless world.

For more information visit http://www.gemalto.com, http://www.justaskgemalto.com, http://blog.gemalto.com, or follow @gemalto on Twitter (http://twitter.com/gemalto).

WASHINGTON, July 15, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
July 14, 2014

In preparation for the July 28-30 Washington Fellows for Young African Leaders Presidential Summit, Assistant Secretary …

WASHINGTON, July 15, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Press Statement
Jen Psaki
Department Spokesperson
Washington, DC
July 14, 2014

We are pleased to announce the arrival of Ambassador Omar Abdirashi Ali Sharmarke, the first Somali Ambassad…

BAMAKO, Mali, July 15, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Today, 14 July 2014, Mr. Pierre Buyoya, Head of the African Union Mission in Mali and the Sahel (MISAHEL), handed over to Mr. Sada Samake, Minister of Interior and Security, a first batc…

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, July 14, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, congratulates the German Chancellor H.E. Angela Merkel, the German Team and its People for thei…

DAKAR, Senegal, July 14, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Alcatel-Lucent (http://www.alcatel-lucent.com) attended the ceremony for launching the m-Ramadan campaign, which originated from the mDiabetes program, in Dakar on June 16, 2014. Alcatel-Lucent is supporting the Senegalese government, represented by the Minister of Health and Social Action, the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy and local partners, by participating in the “mDiabetes” program launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as part of the “Be Healthy, Be Mobile” initiative.

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Photo 1 : http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1231 (Alpin Verlet, head of Alcatel-Lucent in West and Central Africa, and Dr. Awa Marie Coll Seck, Minister of Health and Social Action of Senegal)

Photo 2 : http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1232

The mDiabetes project in Senegal is one of the larger mHealth projects Alcatel-Lucent is involved in. It aims at combating diabetes with an ambitious and innovative campaign based on mobile technology, designed to improve prevention by raising awareness among diabetic patients as well as training health professionals. SMS messages as well as applications will be used as tools in the campaign.

“Senegal is ready for this mDiabetes project which is in a way a natural extension of the eDiabetes program developed by UNFM. Since 2009, it has helped to establish strong ties of cooperation between France and Senegal around diabetes and new technologies,” said Dr Kleinebreil, Vice-President of the UNFM (Université Numérique Francophone Mondiale – a NGO specialized in using ICTs for education in Africa).

This project is a multiple partnership involving many major stakeholders such as the Senegalese government (Ministry of Health and Ministry of Communication), ITU (International Telecommunications Union), the WHO (World Health Organization), ASSAD (Senegalese Association for the Assistance and Support of Diabetes Patients), the African branch of the International Diabetes Federation, the NGO UNFM, the Marc Sankalé Diabetes Center, Alcatel-Lucent, Sonatel/Orange, BUPA (global international health insurance and services company), and Sanofi.

The Minister of Health and Social Action of Senegal, Dr. Awa Marie Coll Seck, announced during this ceremony that “Mobile phones offer potential that can be used for driving messages that promote health. Other mHealth projects around the globle have proven the effectiveness of using cell phones for messages about health”.

In order to overcome illiteracy and to make the initiative more effective, the Minister of Health and Social Action is planning to create voice messages that offer advice to people with diabetes. This initiative, which is inaugurated around the fasting month of Ramadan, is the first stage of the project in Senegal, with a larger and wider-reaching initiative which will be launched in November 2014.

Within the framework of this partnership, Alcatel-Lucent will provide the Ministry of Health and their partners in Senegal with the MNC technological platform mBox as in-kind contribution to the project and will be responsible for coordinating the SaaS platform (software services) and SAP mobile services for the pilot application of “mDiabetes”. This platform will enable mobile services like SMS messages or other applications for widely distributing messages to be used for raising awareness and providing training for people with diabetes who have been identified by the National Center for Combating Diabetes, as well as training health professionals via cellular phones. The aim is to help implement strategies for preventing and combating diabetes and non-communicable diseases. For the end user, i.e. the person suffering from diabetes, it is an opportunity to directly interact with health professionals for better prevention and management of their disease.

For several years, Alcatel-Lucent has been actively working to promote social innovation in multi-stakeholder partnership mode to support mHealth and mLearning programs for health, which aim at providing better access to information on projects relating to health or training. These partnerships are built with companies from the private sector, governments, NGOs, international organizations and development banks, foundations and social entrepreneurs and are key to scaling mHealth

“We are convinced of the value of this project for improving the conditions for diabetes patients in Senegal and are genuinely delighted to be involved as a technological partner in contributing to the success of the mDiabetes project, which aims to improve prevention, raise awareness and combat diabetes and non-transmissible diseases in Senegal. This is an ambitious initiative which could ultimately be replicated in other countries in the fight against diabetes or any other disease,” said Alpin Verlet, Managing Director of Alcatel-Lucent for West and Central Africa.

The aim of the project is to better implement the national program for combating non-transmissible diseases in Senegal and the technology will consolidate and reinforce initiatives from the public and private sectors that benefit the population – raising awareness of the danger of diabetes, and the consequences that it can have on patients and their families, the importance of diagnosing the disease as early as possible and ensuring medical monitoring.

Sending SMS or voice messages has a triple objective:

• Educate and raise awareness among the population and provide information on the disease to limit the occurrence of diabetes which is largely linked to lifestyle.

• Appointment reminders, lifestyle and dietary advice, and the proper observation of treatment to limit risks of complication

• And of course, train health professionals and implement tools for prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, etc., which is essential, particularly in rural areas.

The WHO (World Health Organization) estimated that there will be 552 million diabetics in the world by 2030, 75% of whom will live in low-income countries and where diabetes will be the seventh cause of death in the world. The WHO also believes that mHealth could significantly contribute to slowing down the increase in people with diabetes, which is a life-threatening disease and one of the biggest health challenges of the 21st century.

The work that we have carried out to prepare the project in Senegal has already generated several programs, such as in Egypt for example, and other countries have already shown a keen interest. There are several partners involved in the project in Senegal who wish to help and assist in replicating this project in other places, which would save considerable time and money.

Alcatel-lucent is contributing to the mDiabetes program through mobile technology and innovation which could provide populations from developing nations with better access to healthcare and education. As a specialist in IP network technologies and ultra-broadband access solutions including Cloud technologies, and thanks to our considerable knowledge of the mLearning and mHealth ecosystem, Alcatel-Lucent is a valued partner in helping implement mHealth projects linked with technology.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of Alcatel-Lucent.

If you have any questions please contact Sherine Aziez, Alcatel-Lucent press officer: by email sherine.aziez@alcatel-lucent.com or via cell: +213770968348.

Author: Florence Gaudry-Perkins, Relations institutionnelles et gouvernementales, Alcatel-Lucent