WASHINGTON, July 1, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
June 30, 2014
On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I send best wishes to the people of Burundi on …
WASHINGTON, July 1, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
June 30, 2014
On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people and government of Som…
WASHINGTON, July 1, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
June 30, 2014
On behalf of President Obama and the American people, I congratulate the people of Democratic Republic of the Con…
WASHINGTON, July 1, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
June 30, 2014
On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to send best wishes to the peopl…
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, July 1, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Mr. Min Zhu, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement today in Antananarivo at the conclusion of his two-day visit to Madagascar:
“My visit has been very productive, and I wish to thank Prime Minister Roger Kolo, Minister of Finance and Budget Jean Razafindravonona, as well as Ms. Vonimanitra Razafimbelo, the Acting Governor of the Central Bank, for their hospitality and fruitful discussions.
“I also had the honor to address students at the University of Antananarivo, and IMF staff also visited the Akamasoa villages’ self-help community project and Anjozorobe, where the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Fanamby is promoting environmental sustainability. These offered a good example of how poverty can be addressed with the aid of local resources and conservation activities.
“Our discussions with the authorities, students and civil society covered many topical issues, such as the maintenance of macroeconomic and financial stability, the role of the central bank in the economy, and the need for policies that can enhance inclusive and sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction.
“Over the last five years, slow growth and underperforming revenue collections led to a sharp compression of public investment and social outlays, and an accumulation of domestic budgetary arrears.
“Growth is expected to increase to 3 percent in 2014 thanks mostly to mining, and should rise further in 2015 as more reforms are put in place to boost the economy. We agreed with the authorities that the main medium-term challenge for Madagascar is to create a solid foundation for faster growth and poverty reduction.
“The authorities reiterated the government’s commitment to preserve macroeconomic stability; improve fiscal performance, strengthen governance and the rule of law; attract investors; and promote the private sector, which has a critical role to play in economic growth. The country needs to move back to higher, sustainable, and inclusive growth, which will raise living standards, create more jobs, accelerate poverty reduction and improve the investment environment. The IMF is ready to work with the government in the implementation of its economic program.
“It is in this regard that in June 2014 the IMF Executive Board approved financial assistance under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) in the amount equivalent to SDR 30.55 million (about US$47.1 million) for Madagascar in support of the authorities’ economic recovery program.
“The financial assistance from the IMF will be used to implement a set of economic and structural policies and measures aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and strengthening the capacity of the Malagasy government (see Press Release No. 14/287).
“I am convinced that the government will carry on pushing for good governance and the rule of law, whilst also creating an enabling environment for business, investors and reforms that can be used to boost inclusive growth.”
GENEVA, Switzerland, July 1, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — As armed conflict and violence intensify in some parts of Nigeria, the ICRC and the Nigerian Red Cross Society are responding to emergencies, managing and evacuating the wounded and dead, and helping people driven from their homes. Together they have brought aid to almost 50,000 displaced and vulnerable people in the first five months of the year.
“The conflict in north-east Nigeria has flared up in recent months, while other areas have seen growing tensions and armed violence. The number of people killed, wounded or displaced is on the rise, with children being targeted in attacks or abductions,” said Zoran Jovanovic, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Nigeria. “More and more displaced people are seeking refuge in neighbouring villages, states and countries, often taken in by host communities.”
A growing number of inter-communal clashes between farmers and pastoralists in central Nigeria are driving people to flee their homes and destroying their livelihoods.
The increased violence and bomb attacks in Jos, Kano and Abuja have put a strain on hospitals, some of which needed additional supplies to treat the sudden influxes of mass casualties. “All parties involved in the violence must spare civilian life and property,” added Mr Jovanovic.
The ICRC, together with the National Red Cross Societies in the region, is doing its utmost to provide humanitarian assistance – medical care and emergency relief – to the victims of the conflict, both within Nigeria and in neighbouring countries, especially Niger.
Wounded people receive life-saving care
Some 1,190 people wounded in armed violence in northern Nigeria and in the capital Abuja have received emergency care from first-aid providers trained by the ICRC and the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS).
“In recent months, we have made 50 donations of surgical and first-aid supplies to 17 hospitals and facilities providing first aid in communities without any other access to health services,” explained Bernadette Gleeson, head of ICRC surgical and first-aid programmes in Nigeria. “A full ICRC surgical team remains on standby to assist with the management and treatment of people wounded by firearms or explosive devices. After the bomb blast on a market in Jos last May, they helped treat over 30 patients admitted to Plateau State Specialist Hospital.”
Food supplies for the most vulnerable in the north-east
Over a six-month period up to March 2014, 250 widows living in and around Maiduguri (the capital of Borno state) who had lost their husbands in the ongoing conflict received monthly food aid for them and their families.
The 1,500 people helped in this way were therefore able to save money for other necessities, such as health care, education and clothing. More than 150 widows saved enough to set up small businesses, for which they continue to receive the ICRC’s input and advice. This programme is due to be extended to another 950 widows from July 2014.
“Receiving this aid improved the health of my children and took a huge weight off my shoulders. With the money that I would have used for food, I could afford to buy new school bags and shoes for my three children and start raising poultry,” said Yatata, one of the widows assisted by the ICRC in conjunction with the Borno Muslim and Christian Widows’ Associations.
However, reaching people affected by the conflict in villages in the north-east of the country remains a complex task. The ICRC and the NRCS have assessed the needs of a further 1,800 displaced people in Borno state but have been unable to deliver food and emergency household items to them because of the lack of security in the area. “The deteriorating security situation is the main obstacle to our efforts to help people endure the day-to-day effects of conflict and violence,” said Mr Jovanovic.
Emergency assistance for people affected by inter-communal violence
“We trucked 76,000 litres of water to some 2,000 displaced people taking shelter at Bondong Primary School in Kaura, Kaduna state, over a one-month period,” explained Angelina Adler, who oversees the ICRC’s water programmes in Nigeria. “This covered their drinking and cooking needs while we dug a well in the school courtyard to serve both the displaced and the host communities.”
Around 15,000 displaced people have received food, while an additional 8,500 saw their living conditions improve thanks to emergency assistance in the form of shelter, hygiene and household items distributed by the ICRC and the NRCS.
“Some of the displaced families have been able to negotiate with local communities in the fertile areas of the Middle Belt to use farmland in order to plant their own crops and feed their families,” said Janet Angelei, head of the ICRC’s economic-security programmes in Nigeria. “Around 24,500 of them have received enough maize seed and fertilizer to cultivate one hectare of land, boosting their production by 40%.”
Visits to persons detained in connection with the conflict and violence
In the first five months of 2014, the ICRC visited more than 20 facilities where detainees are being held under the authority of the Nigerian Police Force, the Nigerian Army and the Ministry of Interior. During these visits, ICRC staff assessed detainees’ treatment and living conditions and subsequently submitted confidential feedback and, where necessary, recommendations for improvements to the detaining authorities. The ICRC also improved the living conditions of detainees in police stations and prisons by providing blankets, mosquito nets, and hygiene and recreational items.
“The ICRC is pursuing its dialogue with the authorities with a view to visiting all those detained in connection with the conflict in north-eastern Nigeria, regardless of where they are being held,” said Monique Crettol, the ICRC’s protection coordinator in Nigeria.
GENEVA, Switzerland, July 1, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — A group of UN human rights experts* expressed outrage after a Criminal Court in Minya, Egypt, confirmed death sentences against 183 people, in what constitutes the largest mass death sentence to be confirmed in Egypt in recent history. The experts urged the Government to quash the sentences and offer new and fair trials to all defendants.
On 21 June 2014, the Court upheld 183 of the 683 provisional death sentences imposed on 28 April 2014 in connection with events in Minya last August. The provisional sentences were pronounced following trials laden with procedural flaw. There was a lack of precision in the charges, limited access to lawyers, trials in absentia, and mass sentencing. The charges ranged from threatening public order and setting fire to a police station to murder. The 183 defendants, including Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed al-Badie, are all supporters of former elected President Mohamed Morsi.
“The imposition of mass death sentences following blatantly unfair trials and for crimes that may not be punishable by death constitutes a staggering violation of international human rights law,” the experts said.
The statement by the United Nations independent experts comes after a joint statement on 15 May 2014 urging the Government to quash the 683 deaths sentences, and a joint statement on 31 March 2014 after an earlier round of mass death sentences were imposed upon 529 individuals in trials marred by procedural irregularities.
“We are shocked by the repeated and deliberate use of mass death sentences” stressed the experts, noting that the credibility and integrity of the Egyptian justice system has become deeply compromised. “We are deeply concerned that the courts have become instrumental in the arbitrary and politically motivated prosecutions by the State, which may also be discriminatory against people on the basis of religion or belief”.
According to available information, since January this year the Egyptian courts have recommended the death penalty for 1,247 individuals and upheld such sentences against 247 individuals, all of whom were Morsi supporters.
The experts expressed alarm at the use of the death penalty to clamp down on political dissent and recalled that “death penalty is an extreme form of punishment and, if used at all, should only be imposed for the most severe crimes and following trials that scrupulously respect the guarantees of due process and fair trial as stipulated in international human rights law”.
Concern was also expressed at the recent resumption of executions in the country. Since 16 June six men and a woman convicted of murder and forced robbery were hanged, in the first recorded executions in Egypt since 2011. The UN experts urged the Government of Egypt urgently to impose a moratorium on all death sentences.
The UN experts are also alarmed by the latest conviction of three Al-Jazeera journalists to 7 and 10 years of prison, in what appears to be a continued crackdown on the media.
The UN experts reiterated their call to the Egyptian authorities to reform the legal system and bring it into compliance with international standards. “Respect for justice and the rule of law is an international obligation and an essential component of any strategy for institutional consolidation and lasting reconciliation,” they noted.
(*) The experts: Mr. Christof Heyns, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Ms. Gabriela Knaul, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers; Mr. Juan Méndez, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Mr. Mads Andenas, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; Mr. Maina Kiai, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; Mr. Frank La Rue, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Mr. Pablo de Greiff, Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence; Mr. Heiner Bielefeldt, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief; and Mr. Ben Emmerson, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism.
GENEVA, Switzerland, July 1, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Early struggles in developing a response to the HIV and AIDS pandemic were remembered by African women church leaders who gathered in Nairobi, Kenya to celebrate more than 30 years of their Christian ministry in the churches of their region.
The event brought together over 100 women church leaders from Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, Swaziland, Ghana, Uganda, Eritrea, Rwanda, Tanzania, Cameroon and the Netherlands at the St. Andrews Church (Presbyterian Church of East Africa) on 23 June.
The event highlighted how the history of ordination of women in Africa coincides with the early diagnosis of HIV and AIDS in the 1980s. Efforts of African women theologians were honoured for challenging the stigma attached to the virus and supporting communities affected by HIV and AIDS.
At the event, Dr Rose Wafula, national manager for the Kenyan health ministry of the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission, stressed that women are more vulnerable than men to HIV and AIDS and therefore should be at the forefront in the fight against the pandemic.
“This is what makes leadership of women in the churches critical,” she said.
“Women leading the churches must accompany people affected by HIV. They must mobilize communities in raising awareness. In our churches we need to reach out to all families and everyone around us to join efforts by governments, non-governmental organizations and the United Nations to bring HIV and AIDS infections to zero, as well as mother to child transmission of the virus,” said Wafula.
Jedidah Wathata Maina shared her personal experiences of being an HIV positive person faced with the disability of blindness since 2005 as a result of the virus.
“Those of us who live in rural areas are forgotten,” she said.
Maina described how accepting her HIV positive status was complicated by many difficulties. She faced discrimination from her community and even from some of her family members.
Maina has been on antiretroviral drugs for over fourteen years now. She has made herself available to educate people about HIV and help eliminate the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS, especially among people with disability. “People know so little about HIV and AIDS,” she said.
“HIV is spreading because it is surrounded by silence. We must realize that it is possible for some of us to be HIV positive. It is important for us to go for HIV testing and seek medical treatment we might need,” added Maina.
Rev. Dr Nyambura Njoroge, coordinator of the Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA) of the World Council of Churches (WCC) said that since the 1990s HIV has become a motivating factor for women theologians in Africa to “dig deeper into their Bible, culture, traditions and the lives of the people they serve”.
“Today we feel we have gained a voice rooted in theological grounds. Churches are waking up to the issue of HIV and AIDS. Now we must recognize that HIV is not only a medical condition, it is a social issue, an issue of justice and peace and a theological issue. It is also an issue of language, with which we pray and preach,” she said.
The event in Nairobi was held as part of a conference hosted by the St. Paul’s University chapter of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians. The sponsors of the event included the WCC’s EHAIA, the ICCO (interchurch cooperative for development cooperation) Kerk in Actie in the Netherlands and the St. Augustine Foundation in the United Kingdom.
LONDON, United-Kingdom, June 30, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — GSK (http://www.gsk.com) and Save the Children today announced the launch of their second annual $1 million Healthcare Innovation Award at the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health meeting in South Africa. The award was established to identify and reward innovations in healthcare that have proven successful in reducing child deaths in developing countries.
Logo GSK: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/glaxosmithkline.jpg
Photo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1204 (Sir Andrew Witty, CEO, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
From the 27 June – 25 August, organisations from across the developing world can nominate examples of innovative healthcare approaches they have discovered or implemented. These approaches must have resulted in tangible improvements to under-5 child survival rates, be sustainable and have the potential to be scaled-up and replicated. This year, special interest and attention will be given to work that aims to increase the quality of, or access to, healthcare for newborns.
Last year the top prize was awarded to Friends of Sick Children (FOSC), Malawi, for their ‘bubble’ Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) kit, which demonstrates the impact of simple, low-cost innovations. The ‘bubble’ helps babies that are in respiratory distress, often caused by acute infections like pneumonia, by keeping their lungs inflated so they can breathe more easily. A similar version is already commonly used in developed countries where they cost at least $6,000 each. This innovative low-cost ‘bubble’ CPAP adaptation can be produced for approximately $400.
FOSC was granted an award of $400,000, which along with backing from the Ministry of Health in Malawi, will enable them and their partners to share this life-saving technology with teaching hospitals in Tanzania, Zambia and South Africa.
Co-chaired by Sir Andrew Witty, CEO of GSK, and Justin Forsyth, CEO of Save the Children, a judging panel, made up of experts from the fields of public health, science and academia, will award part of the overall funds to the best healthcare innovation to support further progress. The remaining funds will be made available for runners-up awards as directed by the judging panel.
The award also aims to provide a platform for winning organisations to showcase their innovations and share information with others interested in improving healthcare for children in some of the world’s poorest countries.
Sir Andrew Witty, CEO, GSK said: “We are committed to working in partnership with other organisations and our work with Save the Children is a great example of how we can use our scientific expertise and reach to help improve health outcomes for people around the world. As a direct result of this award last year’s winners have already had a tremendous impact and we want to continue to support them as they develop innovations that can be scaled-up and replicated to help reduce child deaths in the world’s poorest countries.”
Justin Forsyth, Chief Executive, Save the Children said: “We know that in order to bring life-saving healthcare to the hardest to reach children, ambitious new ideas and approaches are needed. Last year’s Healthcare Innovation Award found new innovations that are saving children’s lives and can be replicated to help reach even more children. This year, we look forward to discovering more pioneering solutions that will make a bigger impact for the world’s most vulnerable children.”
While good progress has been made in recent years, every year 6.2 million children worldwide still die before their fifth birthday. Often these children are in the most remote and marginalised communities. The GSK and Save the Children Healthcare Innovation Award aims to discover and encourage replication of the best and most innovative examples of healthcare to have the biggest impact for vulnerable children.
The Healthcare Innovation Award was announced following the launch of GSK and Save the Children’s ambitious new partnership in May 2013, which aims to save the lives of 1 million children in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. One of the most unique aspects of the partnership is the focus on working together to maximise innovations to tackle under-5 child mortality. For example, Save the Children is involved in helping GSK to research and develop child-friendly medicines, with a seat on a new paediatric R&D board to accelerate progress on innovative life-saving interventions for under-fives, and to identify ways to ensure the widest possible access in the developing world.
Recognising that innovation can take many shapes and forms, the criteria for the Healthcare Innovation Award are broad and can include approaches that focus on any aspect of healthcare, including science, nutrition, research, education or partnership working.
Further details on the judging process and criteria can be found online at http://myg.sk/HealthcareInnovationAward. Entries close on 25th August at 11:59pm (GMT). Winners will be announced in December 2014.
Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
Notes to Editors:
Nominations must:
1) Be from a country classified as ‘low’, ‘lower-middle’, or ‘upper-middle’ income by the World Bank (http://data.worldbank.org/country), and not be from the European Union (http://europa.eu/about-eu/countries/index_en.htm). Countries classified as ‘high income’ by the World Bank or that are in the European Union are not eligible
2) Come from an organisation based in an eligible country, with an innovation used for the benefit of the people in an eligible country
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ABU DHABI, UAE, June 30, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Sierra Leone Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (http://mofed.gov.sl) is pleased to announce that Sierra Leone has won the first call for proposals for the prestigious International Renewable Energy Agency / Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (IRENA / ADFD) financing facility; and have today signed the 6MW Freetown Solar Park project which will target urban and western rural districts around the capital, Freetown. This is a landmark Renewable Energy Project in West Africa, adding valuable and needed clean electricity to the grid.
Photo 1: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1203 (Minister and Chairman of ADFD shaking hands)
Photo 2: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1201 (Solar Park Freetown Freetown Signing ceremony)
Photo 3: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1202 (Solar Park Freetown Freetown Signing ceremony)
Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/sl.png
“…Pursuant to actualizing the vision of H.E. President Dr Ernest Bai Koroma, we wish on behalf of the Government of Sierra Leone to thank Mr. Siray Timbo, Special Envoy of H.E. The President and Ambassador to the UAE; the Ministry of Energy; Mr Bahige Annan, The Consul General of Sierra Leone in Dubai and Mr. Filip Matwin, General Manager of Advanced Science and Innovation Company (ASIC) LLC / OGI, for coordinating and putting together the winning bid. ASIC/OGI will facilitate co-financing and management of the project in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy..”, said Dr Kaifala Marah, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone
The USD 18 million clean energy project includes institutional and critical human resource arrangements for sustainable management of the facility. We would like to extend our gratitude to IRENA for coordinating the selection process, the ADFD for extending USD 9 million as part funding to the Government of Sierra Leone and ASIC/OGI that will coordinate additional USD 9 million as private equity. The project will place Sierra Leone on the global map of Renewable Energy; and further strengthen the existing cordial relationship between the Governments of Sierra Leone and the United Arab Emirates.
Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Republic of Sierra Leone.
