New UNCTAD figures show that the significant uptick in consumer e-commerce activity fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic was sustained in 2021, with online sales increasing markedly in value, despite the easing of restrictions in many countries.
The average share of internet users who made purchases online increased from 53% before the pandemic (2019) to 60% following the onset of the pandemic (2020/21), across 66 countries with statistics available.
But the situation prior to the pandemic and the extent of the boost to online shopping experienced vary between countries. Many developed countries already had relatively high levels of online shopping (above 50% of internet users) before the pandemic while most developing countries had a lower uptake of consumer e-commerce (Figure 1). More
eCommerce Week: Better digital governance needed to balance data opportunities and risks 25 April 2022.
USAID launches new malaria surveillance program to help Ethiopia eliminate malaria by 2030
The United States launched a new $9.5 million malaria elimination program in Adama city that will work hand-in-hand with the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health (MOH) to help end malaria in Ethiopia by 2030. The USAID Surveillance for Malaria Elimination activity will rapidly track malaria cases and accurately identify mosquito breeding sites, giving the MOH the capacity to track every case of malaria nationally.
The launch of the Surveillance for Malaria Elimination activity at the Adama Malaria Training Center was attended by USAID/Ethiopia’s Mission Director, Sean Jones; State Minister for the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Dereje Duguma; State Minister of Finance for Economic Cooperation, Ms. Semereta Sewasew; and the Head of the Oromia Regional Health Bureau, Dr. Mengistu Bekele.
Since 2007, the United States has invested more than $480.5 million in malaria control efforts in Ethiopia, and over the last 10 years, malaria cases have been reduced by more than half and deaths by nearly 90%. However, to reach the MOH’s goal of zero cases by 2030, a strong malaria surveillance program is vital.
