The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is pleased to announce a donation of 25 metric tons of nutritious dates from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) to support 200,000 refugees in Tanzania.

The contribution of dates will enhance the nutritional value of WFP’s food assistance to vulnerable groups such as pregnant and breastfeeding women and hospital patients, ensuring they receive the necessary nutrients for their well-being.

“The donation from KSrelief comes at a critical time as WFP is currently facing funding challenges,” said WFP Country Director and Representative Sarah Gordon-Gibson. “We extend our sincere gratitude to KSrelief for their donation, which will help provide much-needed support to those who need it most,” she added.

WFP provides monthly food assistance, consisting of fortified cereals, pulses, salt, and vegetable oil, to refugees in Nduta and Nyarugusu camps in the Kigoma region to meet their basic food and nutrition needs.

Between now and November 2024, WFP Tanzania will face a USD 23 million funding shortfall for its refugee operations.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).

Head of Government, Mr. Aziz Akhannouch, represents His Majesty King Mohammed VI, on May 16, 2024, in Manama, at the 33rd Summit of the League of Arab States.

The Moroccan delegation includes the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Mr. Nasser Bourita, the Moroccan Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Mr. Mustapha Benkhayi, and the Moroccan Ambassador to Cairo and Permanent Delegate of the Kingdom to the Arab League, Mr. Mohamed Ait Ouali.

Arab leaders will examine a series of political, economic, social, cultural and security issues, as well as the draft decisions on the agenda and the draft Final Declaration to be issued at the end of the summit.

The agenda is structured around topics relating to joint Arab action and cooperation with other regional blocs. Emphasis will also be placed on the report of the Presidency of the 32nd Arab Summit on the action of the follow-up body for the implementation of decisions and commitments, and on the Secretary-General’s report on joint Arab action.

Developments in the Palestinian question, and progress towards the establishment of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area and a regional Customs Union are also on the agenda.

The Manama Summit will also discuss Arab cooperation in financial technology, innovation and digital transformation, the Arab water security strategy to meet future sustainable development challenges, and the Arab strategy for youth, security and peace.

It will also examine a proposal to create an Observatory for women’s economic empowerment, issues related to combating the effects of climate change, the Arab strategy for human rights and the joint Arab strategy to counter terrorism.

This 33rd ordinary Arab summit is being held against a backdrop of tensions linked to the situation in the Gaza Strip, but also by security and economic challenges that call for greater inter-Arab solidarity, in the service of regional peace and stability.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kingdom of Morocco – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health, Nakhumicha S. Wafula, has commended the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Foreign, Commonwealth&Development Office (FCDO), and other partners for their generous support towards procuring 450,000 doses of sub-cutaneous Depot Medroxy-Progesterone-Acetate (DMPA) valued at Ksh. 56,418,382.  

This collaborative effort signifies a significant step in overcoming barriers to commodity security, addressing the unmet need for family planning services, and enhancing health outcomes for women and families across Kenya. 

 The remarks were made through Dr Patrick Amoth, Ag Director General of Health during the handover ceremony of Family Planning Commodities at the Kemsa National Supply Chain Centre in Embakasi, Nairobi. 

The event, organized in collaboration with partners including UNFPA and FCDO, demonstrated the collective commitment to improving reproductive health commodity security and advancing family planning objectives in Kenya. 

 Highlighting Kenya’s demographic health indicators, Nakhumicha stressed the importance of sustained efforts to meet targets such as reducing the unmet need for family planning to single digits by 2030 and increasing the modern contraceptive prevalence rate to 64%. 

 Acknowledging regional disparities in access to family planning services, particularly in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) counties, the Cabinet Secretary emphasized the need for targeted interventions to ensure equitable access for all Kenyans. 

 Nakhumicha expressed appreciation to all stakeholders for their dedication to advancing reproductive health and family planning in Kenya. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health, Kenya.

During an in-conversation discussion during this year’s Invest in African Energy (IAE) 2024 forum in Paris on May 15 Partner and Co-Investment Director at Spark+ Africa Fund Peter George and Senior Research Analyst at Energy Intelligence Amena Bakr explored how investments in innovative technologies for clean cooking on the African continent are poised to transform communities across the continent.

“From a market opportunity standpoint, $20-40 billion a year is spent in African markets on cooking fuel, which is a huge market for the LPG industry, for electrification to enable the uptake of electric cooking stoves and fertilizer that can increase crop yields for farmers,” George stated, adding, “There are all these different ways to address this energy access gap and a lot of market opportunities.”

It was noted during the exclusive one-on-one conversation that clean cooking is poised to save at least 200 million hectares of forests globally by 2030. Clean cooking will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 1.9 gigatons of CO2 emissions equivalent per year, roughly equal to all emissions from airplanes and ships today.

“Clean cooking is thought to touch on 11 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals,” George said, stating, “If you look at the cost from the standpoint of deforestation and lost productivity, there are all sorts of ways in which you can quantify people lacking access to modern infrastructure. This cost is something like $2.4 trillion – in Africa, the cost is about $800 million.”

According to George, by taking concessional investment from the public sector, local and international companies can leverage private capital from more commercially oriented investors who seek higher-return profiles in Africa’s developing market.

“Affordability is key, especially when it comes to Africa,” stated Bakr.

A partnership between the African Refiners and Distributors Association and the Global LPG Partnership to mobilize $1 billion in funding for clean energy solutions was announced during the IAE 2024 summit’s first day. The aim of the fund will be to make the funds available to promote a sustainable transition to cleaner fuels for cooking.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital&Power.