Day: April 11, 2022

On Equatorial Guinea’s capital island of Malabo, agriculture ministers from across Africa are meeting this week to discuss solutions to the growing hunger crisis, at a conference convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The 32nd Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa (ARC32) opened with a call from the FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa Abebe Haile-Gabriel to learn lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to trigger urgent action at national level.

“Collectively, we have learned to do things differently, to go digital like never before, and to quickly forge new partnerships to overcome threats. That same agility and spirit of collaboration is needed now for the silent pandemic of poverty, hunger and undernourishment and extreme vulnerabilities to shocks in Africa,” he said.

More than 50 government ministers from African member countries are taking part in the hybrid conference, as well as representatives from observer countries, the African Union, donor organizations, civil society and the private sector. Hundreds of delegates will join the Zoom sessions over the next four days, and many more will watch the live webcast.

“We have to work together to exchange experiences to face these difficulties together,” said H.E. Francisca Eneme Efua, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Forests and Environment of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and Chairperson of ARC32. “This conference gives us an outstanding opportunity to deal with the issues facing Africa. I ask all delegations to ‘put everything on the table’ so we can come up with ministerial consensus,” she said.

Deepening hunger crisis

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were more than 280 million undernourished people in Africa. In 2020, the region recorded the sharpest rise in the prevalence of undernourishment – covering 21 percent of the population which is more than double that of any other region.

A devastating drought in the Horn of Africa has brought many rural families to their knees, and triggered warnings of potential famine in Somalia.

Acute food insecurity in the Sahel and West Africa almost quadrupled between 2019 and 2022 –jumping from 10.8 million people in 2019 to 40.7 million people in 2022, with millions more at-risk of slipping into crisis levels of hunger.

Sky-rocketing global food prices and strains on food supply because of the Russia/Ukraine crisis are likely to push more people into hunger in Africa.

In an opinion piece published in the lead up to the Conference FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu warned that time is running out. “Without extraordinary efforts by every African country, it will be difficult to meet the aspirations and targets of the Sustainable Development Goals,” he wrote.

The Director-General will speak in person at Wednesday’s opening of the Ministerial Session, and the President of Equatorial Guinea will formally open the session.

Four Betters in focus

The Regional Conference is FAO’s highest governing body in Africa. Over the next four days, delegates from across Africa will deliberate and provide guidance on regional priorities in agrifood systems transformation in Africa.

Underpinning the discussions is the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-2031, which supports the 2030 Agenda through the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

Delegates taking part in the first day of the Conference discussed FAO’s development of new strategies on science and innovation, and climate change.

Highlights in the coming days include a special experience-sharing session among countries on solutions for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, and a launch with the African Union of new investment guidelines on youth in agrifood systems.

The Conference ends on Thursday 14 April.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Professor Houssin, Members and Advisors of the Emergency Committee, dear colleagues and friends,

When our last met in January, a new wave of infections and deaths was beginning, driven by the Omicron variant.

It’s pleasing to now see a downward trend in reported deaths, which last week were the lowest in more than two years.

But the pandemic is still far from over.

Transmission remains very high, vaccination coverage remains very low in too many countries, and the relaxation of many public health and social measures is allowing continued transmission, with the risk of new variants emerging.

COVID-19 is now affecting countries in very different ways:

In countries with high population immunity, we have seen a decoupling of cases from hospitalizations and deaths;

In other countries, the massive increases in cases has led to large numbers of hospitalizations and even higher numbers of deaths compared to previous waves.

It remains of major concern that large numbers of health workers and others at high risk are still unvaccinated.

Equitable access to vaccination of the most at-risk groups remains the single most powerful tool we have to save lives.

Striving to vaccinate 70% of the population of every country remains essential for bringing the pandemic under control, with priority given to health workers, older people and other at-risk groups.

Even as some high-income countries now roll out fourth doses for their populations, one third of the world’s population is yet to receive a single dose, including 83% of the population of Africa.

As the pandemic enters its third year, three factors have become critical:

First, fatigue. People are exhausted, after two years of deaths, social isolation, missed family reunions, closed schools and disrupted workplaces.

Second, the duration of immunity from prior vaccination or infection remains unclear.

And third, we can’t predict how the virus will evolve.

Despite these uncertainties, we have the tools to limit transmission, save lives and protect health systems.

We have the systems to better understand the virus as it changes, and we have the vaccines, tests, treatments and public health and social measures to end the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week, WHO released its updated Strategic Preparedness, Readiness and Response Plan for COVID-19.

Our plan sets out the key strategic adjustments that, if implemented rapidly and consistently at national, regional, and global levels, will enable the world to end the global emergency of COVID-19.

While the pandemic remains far from over, the plan also lays the foundations for a more effective response to future threats.

This is our third strategic plan for COVID-19, and it could and should be our last.

My colleagues will provide technical updates on the current epidemiological situation, future scenarios, vaccination and international travel.

My thanks once again to you, Professor Houssin, for your leadership.

And my thanks to each of the committee members and advisors for sharing your expertise, and for your dedication and commitment. Thank you so much.

As always, the International Health Regulations will guide your deliberations.

I wish you a productive meeting.

I thank you.

Source: World Health Organization

EIB President Werner Hoyer joined leaders from the G7, G20 and the African Union in Berlin today for the Break COVID Now summit, hosted by the German Chancellor.

Support from EIB for global pandemic response

COVAX has received €900 million from the European Investment Bank as part of Team Europe.

President Hoyer pledged an additional €1 billion, subject to EIB shareholder approval, to help Gavi COVID-19 Vaccines Advance Market Commitment (COVAX AMC) respond quickly to unexpected COVID-19 pandemic risks.

This funding will allow Gavi to frontload additional capital, support the pandemic vaccine pool, improve vaccine supply and delivery logistics and also help acquire doses from local manufacturers, particularly in Africa.

Multilateral cooperation to strengthen global health

The Break COVID Now summit aims to improve global health security by increasing availability to vaccines and enabling an expedient response to future pandemics.

Individuals, communities, and economies will continue to be harmed by the COVID-19 epidemic as long as coverage gaps exist.

The Gavi COVAX AMC summit seeks to raise $1.1 billion for urgent delivery support and launch a $2.7 billion Pandemic Vaccine.

Covax has succeeded

To achieve the world’s largest and fastest global vaccine rollout, COVAX has established a worldwide procurement, shipment, and delivery system centred on vaccination equity: getting COVID-19 vaccines to low-income countries. COVAX has provided approximately 1.2 billion vaccination doses to AMC-supported countries.

The Gavi COVAX AMC has now vaccinated 42 percent of the population of low-income countries with two doses, compared to 58 percent globally. In January 2022, 34 countries had less than 10% coverage; currently, that figure is 19.

For the first time in two years, ensuring more vaccine supplies is no longer the world’s top priority. COVAX can deliver the doses AMC-supported countries need, when they need them. These achievements have been enabled by contributions to the AMC, including by the EIB, which have funded Gavi’s advance purchase agreements on behalf of COVAX, as well as dose donations.

However there is more to do.

COVAX continues to adapt to ensure lower-income countries have the support they need: now, and in the future. COVAX provides AMC eligible economies with flexible and adaptable support that can help them reach their vaccination targets and expand these targets

Leveraging new and existing financial instruments

Gavi has worked with partners like the EIB to expand the existing array of innovative financial products.

New partnerships are announced ahead of the Gavi COVAX AMC summit, giving donors more options to make multi-year pledges, frontload cash, and for the first time, structure some of those commitments as contingent pledges; and making it easier for AMC eligible countries and their MDB financing partners to purchase additional doses through COVAX.

Source: European Investment Bank

Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) leader Omer al-Digair said that the military leaders plan to form a new government to bypass the UNITAMS initiative which they do not want.

On April 7, the Media Advisor to the Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Tahir Abu Haja, disclosed that the military leaders plan to establish a new political reality and form a new government to complete the transitional period and prepare for elections.

In statements released on his FaceBook page, al-Digair said Sudanese people reject such a plan because it aims at legitimizing the coup of Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. He added that it will lead to more confrontation with the street than resolving the current crisis.

“It is a well-known fact that the coup authority does not want an initiative from the UN mission and seeks, through the so-called “national initiative”, to gain false legitimacy through a fictitious settlement of the political crisis that does not address the issues raised by the revolution’s forces, “he said.

Al-Burhan recently threatened to expel Volker Perthes, UNITAMS head after accusing him of abandoning his mandate to support the implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement and the electoral process and engaging in political activity that did not fall within the scope of his role.

The head of UNAMS and the African Union envoy recently announced they will soon launch the intra-Sudanese dialogue to restore the civilian government in line with the constitutional declaration, which will lead to the return of the Forces for Freedom And Change to power.

The head of the Sovereign Council reiterated several times his commitment to complete the democratic transition in Sudan. He said that the transitional authority should be inspired by the April 1985 model.

Following the fall of the Nimeiri regime, a military transitional council took power in Sudan and was seconded by a technocratic cabinet that takes care of the current affairs of the country and prepares for elections.

Al-Burhan, also, rejected the structural reforms of the Sudanese army and its economic companies saying that such reforms can only be decided by an elected government.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Army dissolved the transitional civilian government on October 25, 2021. He further sacked all senior official employees appointed during the transitional period by the FFC and replaced them with elements who were part of the regime of ousted President Omar al-Bashir.

Source: Sudan Tribune

South Sudan President Salva Kiir has said professionalism in command structures of the army, police and security services is key in the stability and defence of the country’s constitution.

He made the remarks on Friday last week after receiving the list of armed opposition (SPLM/A-IO) officers nominated for the unified command structure.

“The country has been experiencing a situation before us today because of the way the army, police, security organs, and all the organized forces have been politicized. Some of the leaders go into the communities and begin to talk about representation in the army, in police, insecurity, and all these other organs in the state institutions. It is not like that anywhere in the world”, explained Kiir.

He added: “I want you to understand that in the coming days, there will be changes. Some of you will be reassigned and your positions assigned to others. This is what is in the agreement and we are implementing it so that we are blamed for not implementing what we signed. You should know people need peace and peace starts with you because the unity of the army is the source of stability of the country”.

Speaking at a meeting organized by the Joint Defense Board in Juba on Friday, the presidential adviser on security affairs, Tutkew Gatluak Manime expressed the government’s readiness to expedite the formation of the unified command structure.

The meeting was attended by the SPLA chief of defence forces, Gen Santino Deng Wol, SPLA-IO’s acting chief of general staff, Lt. Gen Gabriel Duop Lam and South Sudan Opposition Alliance’s representative Lt. Gen Julius Tabule Daniel.

Manime said the peace parties signed an agreement mediated by the Sudanese government to end a deadlock over the command structure of the unified forces.

The deal allocates 60% representation to Kiir’s ruling party (SPLM) and the remaining 40% to other two-armed groups with fighters to be integrated into the army.

The deputy chief of South Sudan Peoples Defense Forces (SSPDF), Lt. Gen. Thoi Chany Reat welcomed the latest agreement to unify the command structure.

“Allow me to inform the general public that we welcome the decision of the presidency on the unification of the command across the security institutions,” said Reat.

He added, “To my colleagues here and representatives from the SPLA-IO and SSOA, I would like to say we are looking forward to you joining us so that together we rebuild and transform our beloved country South Sudan”.

The top military official urged the mechanisms answerable to fasten the process of graduating the already trained army officers to pave way for the execution of other outstanding provisions of the agreement.

“We urge the mechanisms to speed up the process of graduation of the unified forces and to similarly spare no efforts in preparing for phase two of the necessary unified forces,” he said.

Reat urged all parties to the deal to respect the cessation of the hostilities agreement.

For his part, Tabuley who represented the South Sudan Opposition Alliance announced that screening and restructuring of ranks were already completed.

He said the Joint Transitional Security Committee was only working out some of the remaining technical issues within the camps.

“The second thing is a small technicality for the JTSC to work out the timetable which is not a big deal and then the funding”, said Tabuley.

Meanwhile, Gen. Lam said the implementation of the security arrangements with the projection to build one national army would end clashes within the camps.

“Security arrangement is the backbone of the agreement; it is very important for the parties to implement the security arrangements to unify the forces so that we move from that level to another level that one is very important, and I hope if the command comes together, we shall be moving forward mostly”, he noted.

The three committees were in late December 2021 dispatched to the various training centres to reorganize and unify the forces in those training centres. The process could not proceed because of the stalemate over the power-sharing arrangement in the unified command structure.

About 50,000 forces drawn from different parties are in the training centres. Members of the army, police, national security, prison, wildlife, and civil defence have been undergoing training.

Source: Sudan Tribune