To celebrate its 40th birthday, Protea Hotels by Marriott announced the opening of its first property in Angola while further strengthening its portfolio in South Africa with a new property in Pretoria. The newest additions – Protea by Marriott Luanda and Protea by Marriott Pretoria Hatfield – will offer business and leisure travellers the chance to experience the vibrant local cultures and warm hospitality, along with exceptional accommodation, modern amenities and world-class service.

Protea Hotels by Marriott, part of Marriott Bonvoy’s distinguished portfolio of over 30 extraordinary brands, has grown significantly since its founding in July 1984. Starting with just four hotels in South Africa, the brand now boasts over 60 properties throughout South Africa and eight other African countries, including Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and now Angola. This extensive footprint across primary and secondary business centres and desirable leisure destinations makes Protea Hotels by Marriott a popular choice for travellers exploring Africa.

Sandra Schulze-Potgieter, Vice President of Premium&Select Brands, Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Marriott International, said, “This month we celebrate four decades of exceptional service and genuine African hospitality. What better way to commemorate this milestone than by further strengthening Protea Hotels’ legacy with our first hotel in Angola and the ongoing expansion of the brand in South Africa. Both properties will combine contemporary comfort with a deep appreciation for local culture and heritage, offering guests a unique and enriching stay.”

Protea by Marriott Luanda

Protea Hotels by Marriott makes its debut in Angola with the opening of Protea by Marriott Luanda. Situated between the city centre of Luanda and Talatona, the new hotel offers proximity to a wide range of business, sports and private event destinations, as well as leisure retreats near the sea. The hotel interior creates a comfortable ambience across its public space and 84 guestrooms and suites, using contemporary furniture in African-styled terracotta colour and furnishings made with locally sourced materials. Guests can also admire the paintings by Guilherme Mampuya, a renowned Angolan artist based in Luanda. Culinary offerings include Múcua, an all-day restaurant serving up a modern fusion of Portuguese and Angolan cuisines, and a rooftop bar where guests can unwind with drinks and light bites against panoramic views of the surrounding area. Other facilities include a fully equipped gym and an outdoor pool with a waterfall.

Protea by Marriott Pretoria Hatfield

Protea by Marriott Pretoria Hatfield is strategically located in Hatfield, one of the most sought-after areas in Pretoria, providing business and leisure travellers with easy access to diplomatic, government and corporate offices as well as shopping centres, entertainment destinations and sporting facilities. The hotel features 203 contemporary guestrooms designed for comfort and style. Guests can enjoy a memorable dining experience at The African Restaurant and Bar, which dishes up a fusion of global and African cuisines. A cosy 30-seater bar provides a relaxing space to unwind, while five state-of-the-art conference venues cater to both large-scale and intimate gatherings.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Marriott International, Inc..

About Protea Hotels by Marriott:
Protea Hotels by Marriott® is the leading hospitality brand in Africa and it is one of the most widely recognized brands on the continent with over 60 hotels across nine countries including South Africa, Zambia, Nigeria, Namibia, Botswana, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi and Angola.  Protea Hotels by Marriott® is ideal for both business and leisure travellers by offering properties in primary and secondary business centres and desirable leisure destinations. Each hotel offers modern facilities, proactive and friendly service and consistent amenities such as full-service restaurants, meeting spaces, complimentary Wi-Fi, and well-appointed rooms, ensuring global standards for a high quality, relaxed and successful stay.

About Marriott Bonvoy®:
Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International’s portfolio of more than 30 hotel brands and 10,000 global destinations, offers renowned hospitality in the most memorable locations around the world. The award-winning travel program and marketplace gives members access to transformative, eye-opening experiences around the corner and across the globe. To enroll for free or for more information about Marriott Bonvoy, visit http://apo-opa.co/3LgyVpn. To download the Marriott app, go here. Travelers can also connect with Marriott Bonvoy on Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok.

Azentio Software (“Azentio“) (https://apo-opa.co/3S1ucM9) – a leading end-to-end software company specializing in the BFSI sector, has today announced its acknowledgement as global market leader across 3 categories by IBS Intelligence in the IBSi Sales League Table (SLT) 2024. Leading the way in the Islamic Digital, Islamic Lending – Retail and Document Management categories, Azentio (www.Azentio.com) also secured #2 Leadership Club spots in an additional 6 categories including Wealth Management – Investment&Fund Management, Islamic – Universal Banking Core, Islamic – Risk Management, Regional Leaders – Middle East, Domestic Leaders – India, and Global Leadership – Product Breadth.

With a track record of over two decades, the IBSi SLT showcases the sales performance of banking technology suppliers, objectively ranking products across 20 categories. The SLT has received a consistent level of interest and participation with 50+ technology suppliers submitting 2,100+ deals spanning 151 countries.

While IBSi SLT recognizes technology vendors’ sales performance across hundreds of system selection engagements carried out across the globe, the SLT Leadership Club identifies the prominent systems that have made their mark across various categories of systems as well as geographies.

Commenting on Azentio’s achievement, Nikhil Gokhale, Director – Research&Digital Properties at IBS Intelligence, said, “I congratulate Azentio on their remarkable achievement of winning in 7 categories at the SLT 2024 awards. Along with which they also won the ‘Product Breadth’ category with submissions across 10 system types. This recognition is a testament to Azentio’s dedication to innovation and excellence in the banking technology industry. Their success in these categories showcases their ability to deliver cutting-edge solutions that empower financial institutions and drive digital transformation.”

Emma Foley, CMO at Azentio, commented, “We are delighted that Azentio has once again achieved top ranking in the IBSi Sales League Table across multiple categories, demonstrating our continued commitment to delivering cutting-edge technology to our customers. Our built-for-purpose banking products are created and developed specifically with the needs of our regions in mind, allowing us to focus our innovation efforts fully on developments and advancements which will deliver tangible benefits to our customers. This focus, I believe, positions us ideally as the vendor of choice for banks and financial institutions looking to modernise through world class technology with regional purpose.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Azentio Software Private Limited.

About Azentio Software:
Azentio Software incorporated in 2020 at Singapore, has been carved out of 3i Infotech, Candela Labs, Beyontec Technologies and Path Solutions. Azentio Software provides mission critical, vertical-specific software products for customers in banking, financial services and insurance verticals. Azentio has over 800 customers in more than 60 countries, with a team of over 2,300 employees across offices in 12 countries (and growing) globally and is wholly owned by Funds advised by Apax Partners.

Angola faces a generalized Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) epidemic, with sexual transmission being key to its spread. According to the Demographic Health Indicators Survey (2015/16), the HIV prevalence rate in the general population 15-49 years is 2% and is higher amongst women. 

The HIV epidemic is mostly concentrated in urban areas, with the highest prevalence and incidence in the Eastern and Southern provinces of the country partly influenced by the porous borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo, including Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul and Malanje.

According to UNAIDS (2022), around 310,000 people in Angola live with HIV/AIDS. However, antiretroviral treatment coverage is still insufficient, reaching only 49% of adults and 22% of children who need treatment.

As part of a wider initiative to accelerate and strengthen joint monitoring, technical support, and supervision visits during this current fiscal year, the National Institute of the Fight Against AIDS (INLS) initiated a series of HIV advocacy field visits in June 2024 to the provinces of Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, and Malanje. Supported by UNAIDS, WHO, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNFPA, and Civil Society Organizations such as ACADEJ, ANASO, and MWENHO, these visits aim to strengthen HIV prevention and treatment actions amongst children and young people. Additionally, the initiative seeks to enhance the integration of primary care and Sexual and Reproductive Health services, as well as reduce gender-based violence.

According to the Director of INLS, Dr. Lúcia Furtado, chief of the HIV advocacy delegation, the creation of a multisectoral commission is essential to disseminate information about the virus, forms of transmission, prevention, and treatment. ”We’ve been working on spreading the word about the elimination of vertical transmission programme, to minimize the transmission of the virus from mother to child,” She added.

Despite the efforts made to date, it is important to note that there are still several challenges in the fight against HIV/AIDS. These include limited investment in community strategies that support health programs, social barriers that hinder adherence and continuity of diagnosis and treatment, and gaps in multisectoral actions to intensify HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment measures.

To mitigate these challenges and achieve key national and global targets, meetings were held with the Provincial Governors of Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul and Malanje, to discuss relevant data on the impact of HIV in their respective provinces highlighting the need for stronger political leadership for effective actions towards prevention, access to treatment and adherence support programs for people living with HIV.

In addition, meetings were held with the Provincial Health Directorate of the three provinces to assess the state of health services delivery and to identify, based on the 7th National HIV, STIs and Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plan (NSP7), actions to acceleration in line with the priorities established in each of the provinces.

Furthermore, delegates visited the Kasai Refugee Settlement of Lôvua in Lunda Norte; the Provincial Maternal Hospital and the Maternal-child center in Lunda Sul and Malanje to understand the challenges and successes in implementing pediatric and mother-child HIV services. 

Consultation and orientation sessions with local civil society organizations were also held in the three provinces. ”There is hope for us to change this scenario. We will continue to work together to prevent, test HIV and ensure that no one is left behind,” said Dr Yoti Zabulon, WHO Representative in Angola, during this occasion in Lunda Norte, expressing WHO’s renewed commitment to supporting the Government and health partners in the fight against HIV/AIDS and in promoting greater health for all people in Angola. 

On the same occasion, the UNAIDS representative in Angola, Dr Hege Wagan stressed that global commitments do not exist without the people who do the work in the community. She continued “The global goals are there because we know we can achieve them if we work together. So here we are listening to how we can work better together, as the United Nations, Civil Society and Government.”

The HIV advocacy meetings will visit twelve additional provinces with HIV prevalence of 2% or higher to disseminate the NSP7 and contribute ideas towards decrease of new infections especially amongst children and young people.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – Angola.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is saddened to confirm the deaths of two of our colleagues who died in a road accident that took place on Saturday, 6 July, 2024, in Mali. Twelve members of our team, and one accompanying infant, were injured as a result of the incident but are not believed to be in life-threatening conditions.

The IRC is heartbroken over the loss of our colleagues; our in-country staff are the very heart of our work and are key in providing support and assistance to our clients. We are working to support the families of our deceased colleagues, our staff who were injured and their families, as well as the wider team during this terrible time.

The IRC has been working in Mali since 2012 and is currently working in 5 regions throughout the country to help disaster-affected populations recover and rebuild. IRC delivers critical humanitarian aid including clean water, sanitation, primary healthcare, livelihoods opportunities and protection for women and children and education.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Rescue Committee (IRC) .