Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi spoke over the phone with King of the Kingdom of Bahrain, His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The two leaders exchanged greetings on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, praying to Allah the Almighty to bestow blessings and goodness on the two countries and the Arab and Islamic nations and grant the Egyptian and Bahraini peoples enduring security, stability and prosperity.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Government officials, trade representatives and other stakeholders from the Republic of Uganda and the Republic of South Sudan convened at Nimule Border on Tuesday for a high-level joint border sensitisation mission focused on strengthening cross-border trade relations and fostering regional integration.

The mission provided a platform for in-depth discussions on various issues impacting trade between the two Partner States, with a particular emphasis on the implementation of One Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) and other trade facilitation measures.

A key highlight of the mission was the in-depth review of the performance of the OSBPs, which aim to streamline clearance processes and enhance security measures at border points. Stakeholders underscored the importance of consolidating various government agencies into one central location to expedite clearance times and simplify procedures for cross-border traders.

Presentations from both Partner States’ delegations revealed a significant increase in traffic between the two countries, highlighting the growing importance of efficient trade facilitation measures. Despite progress, challenges such as differing operational hours and tax regimes were identified, emphasising the need for harmonisation and coordination between border authorities to ensure smoother trade operations.

Reactions from stakeholders echoed the call for improved understanding of OSBP procedures, gender-sensitive integration efforts and the need to address environmental challenges affecting trade activities in the area, with particular reference to floods known to frequently affect the Elegu/Nimule area.

Other key recommendations included the need for capacity building for traders to fully appreciate and experience the benefits of the EAC integration and infrastructure development to support cross-border trade.

Speaking during the event, East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), Member of Parliament, Hon. Dr. Anne Itto, said that the Community had put in place various initiatives to facilitate trade and regional integration, and OSBPS take center stage.

“If we do not have the free movement of goods and people, then we do not have integration” she said. “There is therefore urgent need to ensure there are facilities to effectively facilitate trade on both sides on the Elegu/Nimule border,” said Hon. Itto.

The EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Customs, Trade and Monetary Affairs, Ms. Annette Ssemuwemba, commended all border agencies for their commitment in ensuring services were offered despite challenges in the execution of their respective mandates.

In responding to the matters raised, the Deputy Secretary General said that the EAC Secretariat would work jointly with Uganda and South Sudan in the development of strategies aimed at transforming operations at the Elegu/Nimule border.

“The Secretariat has taken note of all challenges raised and recommendations offered for improved trade facilitation. We shall develop an action plan that incorporates all issues raised, stakeholders charged with ironing out these issues and the implementation timeframe – short, medium and long term,” added Ms. Ssemuwemba.

Ms. Ssemuwemba further said that longer-term interventions such as infrastructure development, IT systems interconnectivity and the provision of facilities for women cross-border traders were essential for sustainable progress and prosperity at the border.

On his part, the Under Secretary in South Sudan’s Ministry of EAC Affairs, Hon. Adv. Beny Gideon Mabor, said that the deliberations of the day were centered around the Customs Union and Common Market, both pivotal components of the EAC integration agenda. “We have identified several challenges impeding the seamless functioning of OSBPs, ranging from issues within the mandate of Partner States to logistical hurdles,” said the Under Secretary.

“The Government of the Republic of South Sudan is committed to addressing these challenges by implementing necessary measures to operationalise OSBPs,” said Hon. Mabor.  “I recognise that certain decisions can be expedited without the need for OSBP structures, we pledge to implement these with urgency,” he added.

Representing the South Sudan Minister of Trade and Industry, the Advisor to the Minister of Trade and Industry in South Sudan, Hon. Simon Nyang, said that the OSBP review meeting was critical to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, adding that the Ministry will strive to implement the recommendations of the meeting.

Speaking at the event, Uganda’s 1st Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of EAC Affairs, Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, hailed the diligent efforts of all border agencies in facilitating the movement of goods.

Hon. Kadaga underscored the urgent need for South Sudan to expedite the implementation of the EAC Customs Union Protocol.

“This acceleration is imperative in ensuring citizens enjoy the full benefits the of the EAC integration,” said the Minister.

“In areas where legislative frameworks to facilitate the implementation of the Customs Union remain pending, I implore the Republic of South Sudan to actively seek support from the EAC Secretariat to conclude the same,” said Hon. Kadaga.

The Minister reaffirmed Uganda’s commitment to ensure enhanced collaboration of the border agencies from the two Partner States.

The Elegu/Nimule border mission served as a testament to the shared commitment by both Uganda and South Sudan towards strengthening cross-border trade and advancing regional cooperation. The stakeholder engagements session was preceded by an inspection of the Elegu and Nimule OSBPs.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of East African Community.

The 2024 GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition (https://GoGettaz.Africa) invites agrifood entrepreneurs from across Africa to showcase their startup business ventures. Judges will be looking for innovative founders and co-founders aged 18-35 with the vision to establish sustainable scalable businesses, drive resilience, increase food security, and create jobs in the agrifood sector. Applications are open from 8 April to 10 June 2024 at https://GoGettaz.Africa.

This year’s competition will recognize and celebrate African entrepreneurs whose business solutions address the pressing need for efficient local production of nutritious food, with business models that embrace scale and innovation, while also helping to mitigate climate and broader environmental challenges. The top competitors selected this year will have the opportunity to shine at the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize final pitch competition, set to take place during the prestigious Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, from 2 to 6 September.

Two grand prizes of $50,000 each will be awarded to the most promising and impactful female and male agripreneur-led businesses. The judges will also be looking to award ventures that make a significant impact in one or more of the following areas: rural livelihoods, nutrition, climate, digital technology, gender, natural resources, and job creation.

Against the backdrop of extreme weather events plaguing Africa’s agrifood sector, the continent’s young agripreneurs are emerging as catalysts for change. With their innovative solutions and products, they are pioneering ventures that hold the key to addressing these pressing issues head-on. Now, more than ever, Africa’s agripreneurs are called upon to showcase their ingenuity and resilience by entering the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition. The GoGettaz partnership platform offers an avenue for recognition, networking and support, and fast-tracks the development and implementation of groundbreaking solutions essential for the sustainable transformation of Africa’s food systems.

“I continue to be impressed by the tremendous efforts of the young entrepreneurs we meet in the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition,” remarks Svein Tore Holsether, President and Chief Executive Officer of Yara International and GoGettaz co-founder. “The way they leverage technologies and innovative business models exemplifies the potential in the agrifood sector and the crucial role of entrepreneurship in driving sustainable development. As we embark on the campaign to find our agrifood stars for 2024, we are motivated by the greater impact to create jobs, uplift communities, and nourish Africa’s growing population.”

According to United Nations forecasts, by 2050 one quarter of humanity and at least one third of the world’s youth population ages 15-24 will be African. Today more than 70% of sub-Saharan Africans are under the age of 30, making Africa the continent with the youngest population globally. The continent also has one of the highest rates of entrepreneurship.

“Some fear a potential ‘youth quake,’” observed GoGettaz co-founder Strive Masiyiwa, Founder and Chairman of Econet Group, who served as Chair of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) for several years. “However, we see huge opportunities and promise if the right support is given and enabling environments created for our youth who are filled with creative energy and ideas. Africa’s GoGettaz entrepreneurs are not passive bystanders! They are already seeing and seizing the moment, embracing technology, and working to revolutionize the agrifood industry,” he said.

“Since we launched the first GoGettaz Africa competition in 2019, we’ve discovered young entrepreneurs from across the continent building an amazing array of innovative agribusinesses, both traditional growers and very high-tech AI-driven ones. At the same time, they’re growing the prosperity of their families and nations, and the food security of Africa! These dynamic young entrepreneurs deserve both our recognition and support. That’s why we launched GoGettaz,” he said. 

The 2024 GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition welcomes a broader pool of African talent, as the competition expands support to address food systems issues affecting communities at country and regional level. This year, GoGettaz is excited to extend support to French-speaking entrepreneurs, ensuring inclusivity and accessibility across linguistic boundaries.

“The GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition stands as a beacon of hope, rallying Africa’s brightest minds to pioneer transformative solutions and drive meaningful change with the bulk of youth to accelerate the SGDs achievements by 2030,” says Amath Pathe Sene, Managing Director of the Africa Food Systems Forum. “Africa stands at the forefront of innovating for resilience. I cannot wait to see what ground-breaking climate solutions come from the 2024 GoGettaz contestants. The grand prize winners for 2023 both placed sustainable, nature-positive production at the forefront of their ventures by actively promoting agroforestry among suppliers and by preventing further deforestation through tech-enabled supply tracing. As soaring temperatures and erratic weather patterns threaten food security, the continent’s agripreneurs are rising to the occasion. With determination and ingenuity, they are reshaping agricultural practices, embracing sustainable technologies, and spearheading climate-smart solutions. The GoGettaz competition serves as a platform to incentivize these innovative minds to share, collaborate, and catalyse revolutionary climate action that will shape Africa’s future.”

The 2024 GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition offers exciting opportunities and rewards for African agrifood entrepreneurs. Beyond the competition, GoGettaz finalists can look forward to ongoing support to advance their leadership and impact in the agrifood sector. Top contestants will be invited to apply for the exclusive 6-month GoGettaz Africa Leadership Program, designed to empower emerging leaders with the skills and network to grow themselves and their businesses. Selected entrepreneurs will benefit from personalised support, engaging in individual coaching, peer-to-peer sessions, and workshops led by thought leaders, fostering continuous growth and development even after the GAPC competition period concludes. As the 2023 Cohort is currently reaping the benefits of this transformative program, the 2024 competition promises to offer numerous growth opportunities for the next generation of agrifood innovators.

All African agripreneurs are welcomed and encouraged to join the GoGettaz community and check to see if they qualify to take part in this year’s GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition. With the unwavering support and expertise of its co-founders and partners, the GoGettaz team looks forward to thousands more youth from across Africa enjoying the benefits of membership in our growing community of visionary changemakers.

To join the GoGettaz community, apply to compete in the 2024 GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition, and to discover ways you can contribute to our vision of a greener, more prosperous, and more sustainable future for Africa and beyond, you can find out more here: https://GoGettaz.Africa.

To stay updated and inspired, please find us @GoGettazAfrica on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube!

The application deadline is 10 June 2024.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of 2024 GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition.

Contact:
Jane Machigere
Media Liaison
jane@jsmcommunications.com

GoGettaz Co-Founders:
Yara International: https://www.Yara.com/
Econet: https://www.EconetAfrica.com/

GoGettaz Partners:
Africa Food Systems Forum: https://AGRF.org/
Alliance for a Green Revolution Africa: https://AGRA.org/
Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions: http://www.SACAU.org/
SNV Netherlands Development Organisation: https://www.SNV.org/
U.S. Agency for International Development: https://www.USAID.gov/

More than 10 million children in Sudan have been in an active warzone and less than five kilometres away from gunfire, shelling and other deadly violence over the past year of war, said Save the Children.

Analysis by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) on behalf of Save the Children found that one in two children in Sudan are currently or have been within five kilometers of the frontlines of the conflict within the last year, leaving them exposed to gunfire, shelling, airstrikes and other violence [1]. This is a 60% increase from the already 6.6 million children exposed to violence in the first month of the fighting , and shows how the conflict has continued to increase in scale and scope across the country.

Leaders meeting in Paris next week to discuss the crisis in Sudan must do all in their power to improve humanitarian access, protect children and stave off famine, said Save the Children, as fierce fighting continues to turn the lives of millions of children upside down. Leaders also need to urgently increase funding, with 95% of funds still lacking in the international humanitarian response.

The new joint analysis shows that since fighting erupted in Khartoum on 15 April 2023, over 10 million children have been exposed to battles, bombings, Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks, mortar and missile attacks, and direct attacks on civilians. They will have witnessed or have suffered devastating injury, death, displacement, psychological harm and the destruction of their homes and communities.

The majority of violent events since April 2023 have occurred in the more populated locations of Sudan including towns and cities of over 100,000 people exposing many children to traumatising violence repeatedly[3]. According to ACLED’s analysis, around 5 million children have repeatedly been in the vicinity of such violence in the last year.

Jouman*, 16, fled Sudan with her family in November and now lives in Cairo, Egypt where she studies at a school for Sudanese refugees which Save the Children supports with learning resources and materials.

“The fighting was really tough. We never imagined that we would flee Sudan,” says Jouman.*

In Cairo, she enjoys playing football with her best friend at school, Hanaa*, 15 who was also forced to flee Sudan. Jouman* eventually hopes to return to Sudan where she wants to become a doctor in the future.

“I had good days in Sudan. I used to go to school, then back home and spend time with the family and [when with my friend], we have fun and study,” she says.

Dr. Arif Noor, Country Director for Save the Children in Sudan, said:

“These findings show how dangerously close to death and injury so many children in Sudan have been over the past year of war. Children in Sudan have suffered unimaginably – they have seen killings, massacres, bullet-littered streets, dead bodies and shelled homes while they live with the all-too-real fear that they themselves could be killed, injured, recruited to fight or subject to sexual violence. Although the UN Security Council recently called for a ceasefire, fighting continues, with millions of children caught in the crossfire.

“The situation has reached boiling point. Millions more children do not have access to adequate food, 3.8 million are malnourished and thousands of others risk death from disease as the country’s health system has all but collapsed. Not a single child has been able to go to school over the past year. No child should have to go through what those in Sudan have been experiencing.

“Next week, when global and regional leaders come together in Paris, they must urgently prioritise both political and financial solutions to this crisis. They must do everything in their power to find solutions to end the fighting and work directly with the parties to the conflict to ensure they are adhering to their obligations under international law. They also need to commit to increasing funding to the humanitarian response plan, which a quarter of the way into this year remains woefully 5% funded. There has been limited to no collective global effort to protect children in Sudan. These children deserve better – and this is the opportunity to give them a chance to survive.”

Clionadh Raleigh, President and Chief Executive Officer of ACLED said:

“Over 10 million children have been repeatedly exposed to deadly violence across Sudan since hostilities began in April 2023. This staggering figure is the highest number of children exposed in the world and is equivalent to the total population of children in Germany. The future of Sudanese children is being callously sacrificed within a power contest that disregards the suffering and consequences endured by the Sudanese people. A year into the conflict, this trajectory ensures that more children, families and communities will be harmed and killed in the months to come.”

The number of children exposed to the deadly conflict has increased as fighting has spread to more parts of the country including Al-Jazirah, which was once Sudan’s breadbasket.

The intensity of the conflict has led to the displacement of four million children – the highest number in the world [4], while 230,000 children and new mothers are likely to die from hunger without critical action. Over 15,200 people, likely a large underestimate, including children have been killed, while thousands more have been injured. [5]

So far, the UN’s humanitarian response plan is just 5% funded, with an over $2.5bn shortfall [6].

Save the Children has worked in Sudan since 1983. In 2023, Save the Children directly reached 2.1 million people, with 1.5 million of them children, with programming focused on child protection, access to quality education, health and nutrition support and responding to emergencies.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Save the Children.