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Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, First Lady Fatima Bio Join Family Members to Pay Last Respect to the Late Brother Mark Moses Oladipo Simeon Bio

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His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio and First Lady Fatima Bio have joined family members, well-wishers, and residents of Bonthe District to pay their last respects to the home calling of, the late Mr. Mark Moses Oladipo Simeon Bio, the elder brother of the President.

The funeral mass at the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Tihun, for Brother Simeon Bio, aged 77, was officiated by Reverend Fr. Samuel Von Tucker. He called the procession to order and directed the mass for the funeral.

The man of God, while delivering his message of homily, reminded the mourners of the death of Jesus Christ on a Good Friday and His resurrection, pointing out that the Bio family was in the town weeks earlier to mourn the death of their sister and mother figure, Mrs. Agnes Deen-Jalloh (Nee Bio). He called on the younger generation of the Bios to take over the responsibility of their family.

The first reading was taken from the book of Maccabees 12:43–45 by Mr. James Bio; the second reading was taken from the book of Romans 14:7–12 and was done by Ambassador Dr. Francess V. Anderson; and the gospel reading was taken from the book of John 14:1–6.

While giving tributes on behalf of all the children, Mr. Charlie Mark Bio said he was privileged to pay homage to his late father, born in August 1946 to the first daughter of the late Paramount Chief Charlie Kakpindi Bio. He said the late man started his education in Tihun and later became a sanitary inspector in the Bonthe district.

“The late man loved the family and was a father. Even with the large family, he was able to keep them together and teach them to love one another. My father showed me to believe that the Bio family is one big, wonderful family that always needs to be together and in peace. I pray that God continues to embrace his gentle soul and the souls of all the faithful departed. Rest in peace,” he concluded.

Mr. Bio extended their gratitude to His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio, for keeping their family together and for embracing every family member. He noted that they were grateful to President Bio for taking care of their family and for transforming and bringing peace into their family.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of State House Sierra Leone.

India: Visit of Secretary (Economic Relations) to Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya

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Shri Dammu Ravi, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, will pay a visit to Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya from April 7-12, 2024. He will be accompanied by AS(E&SA), Shri Puneet R. Kundal.

2. In Rwanda, Secretary (ER) will represent the Government of India, in the event marking the 30th commemoration of the 1994 Rwanda Genocide (Kwibuka 30) on 7th April 2024. During the visit, he is also expected to hold meetings with Ministers and senior officials of the Government of Rwanda.

3. ​Secretary (ER) will thereafter travel to Uganda from 08-09 April 2024, leading a 35 member multi sectoral business delegation that aims to increase trade and commercial ties between the two countries. He will also meet with Ministers and officials of the Ugandan Government besides chairing a business session comprising captains of Indian and Ugandan industry. He is also expected to interact with the Indian community in Uganda.

4. ​Secretary (ER) will then travel to Kenya heading a large delegation comprising officials from Ministry of Agriculture, Indian agricultural companies and business chambers from 10-12 April 2024. This visit will be in fulfilment of the decision taken in the meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President of Kenya, during his visit to India in December 2023. The delegation will interalia explore the possibility of agricultural farming in Kenya. Secretary (ER) will also be chairing a business session comprising Indian and Kenyan companies besides having meetings with Ministers and officials of the Government of Kenya. He will also be meeting with members of the Indian community in Kenya.

5.​ The visit by Secretary (ER) is a reaffirmation of India’s commitment to further strengthen its ties of friendship with Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya and to maintain the momentum of high level contacts between India and countries in Africa, post the entry of the African Union (AU) as a permanent member of the G-20 during the Indian Presidency.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of External Affairs – Government of India.

Half of out-of-School Children Live in Countries Most Vulnerable to Climate Change, with Philippines Latest to Shut Schools due to Extreme Weather

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Around one in two out-of-school children and adolescents live in countries at the forefront of the climate crisis, according to new analysis by Save the Children. The figures come as extreme heat has forced hundreds of schools to shut in the Philippines this week [1], while in South Sudan, students are only just returning to school after two weeks of heatwave-induced school closures, which impacted tens of thousands of children. 

For the analysis, Save the Children looked at how many of the approximately 250 million children and adolescents worldwide that are not in primary or secondary education (covering ages 5 to 19) live in places most vulnerable to climate change [2]. We found that 50% of children missing out on school live in 36 countries which are most at risk of the negative effects of the climate crisis while being least able to adapt [3]. These countries however, only represent around a quarter of children of school age.

Globally, the countries that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change are those that are poorest or most fragile, where children were already more likely to be out-of-school for reasons including conflict, poverty, disability and gender inequality. Climate change makes extreme weather events and natural disasters that impact education even more likely. Around 62 million children and adolescents in 27 countries have had their education disrupted by climate shocks since 2020 [4], resulting in significant long-term impact on learning, both from school closures and from increased heatwaves [5].

In South Sudan, which saw scorching temperatures of up to 45 °C as this year’s hot season hit much earlier than usual, the government ordered schools to close for two weeks. Temperatures in at least ten of the Philippine’s 17 regions meanwhile are expected to hit or exceed 42 °C this week, about 20 % higher than typically seen in April.  

Kelley Toole, Save the Children’s Interim Global Director Child Poverty, Climate&Urban, said: 

“The climate crisis is a child rights’ crisis and its effects on children’s right to learn is a stark reminder of this. The climate emergency threatens children’s ability to access education and has potentially life-long consequences for children who again are being forced to pay the price for a crisis they are the least responsible for. 

Unless we act to protect education from the negative effects of a changing climate, the impact on the futures of these children who already live in some of the countries where out-of-school rates are already highest will only be more pronounced. We cannot let inequality build upon inequality and injustice upon injustice.” 

More than 1 billion children, around half the world’s 2.2 billion children, live in countries highly susceptible to – and in many cases already experiencing – the effects of climate change. 

Climate shocks and extreme weather such as cyclones, floods, and fires often damage or destroy schools and can lead to the displacement of school-age children or force them to enter the workforce to support their families. Girls are particularly affected as they are less likely to return to school after a disaster or a climate shock. 

As the world’s leading independent child rights organization, Save the Children works in 116 countries, tackling climate across everything we do, including education.

Save the Children is part of Building the Climate Resilience of Children and Communities through the Education Sector (BRACE), a green schools initiative which provides finance to support education systems in vulnerable countries to construct climate-resilient and green schools, integrate climate change in school curricula and provide climate early warnings to schools. We are also part of the Climate Smart Education Systems initiative to strengthen the resilience and relevance of education to climate change and environmental degradation, while the Comprehensive School Safety Framework, endorsed by over 70 governments is central to our approach to address climate change and ensure children have continued access to learning.

Save the Children is calling for improved understanding of climate change’s impact on education, a greater focus on education as part of climate action and more climate and education investment globally, including in Africa, where the African Union has declared 2024 the Year of Education.  

[2] Save the Children used UNESCO data on children out of primary and secondary school and compared this to each country’s climate change risk score in terms of their capacity to improve resilience as per the University of Notre Dame’s Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) Index which is available for 181 countries. We divided countries into quintiles based on their level of climate risk, then calculated how many out-of-school children are in each risk group (quintile). South Sudan, which was not covered by ND-GAIN, was placed in our top quintile as it is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change globally, according to the UN.   

[3] These countries are: Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, Benin, Burkina Faso, Bangladesh, Chad, Central African Rep, DR Congo, Congo, Comoros, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Micronesia, Guinea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Myanmar, Mozambique, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sudan, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Syria, Chad, Uganda, Yemen and Zimbabwe. 

[5] A Harvard University study in the US found that without air conditioning, each 1°F increase in school year temperature reduces the amount learned that year by one percent. https://apo-opa.co/3U5pWMN

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Save the Children.

Globeleq to build Africa’s largest standalone battery energy storage system in South Africa

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UK company Globeleq, the leading independent power company in Africa, today announced that its Red Sands project in the Northern Cape has been awarded Preferred Bidder status in South Africa’s Energy Storage Capacity Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (ESIPPPP). Globeleq is majority-owned by British International Investment (BII), the Development Finance Institution of the UK Government.

Battery storage is an essential enabler of renewable-energy generation, and the market for these systems is growing rapidly in South Africa and worldwide as a means of resolving energy crises and tackling climate change. These systems provide reliable power supply on demand, even when the energy grid is unstable, overcoming the challenges of intermittent wind and solar sources. They store energy at times of excess generation so that it can be released into the grid when generation falls short of demand, helping to mitigate the need for load-shedding.

Experts say that widespread energy storage is vital to expanding the reach of renewables and speeding the transition to a carbon-free power grid – this is key to helping reduce South Africa’s reliance on fossil fuels as it seeks to transition to clean energy. This R5.7 billion (US$300 million) investment therefore represents a flagship project financed by the UK as part of its commitment under the Just Energy Transition Partnership agreed at COP26.

The Red Sands project is in the Northern Cape, about 100km southeast of Upington, and was originally developed by African Green Ventures, a South African renewable project development company owned by Norwegian based energy firm Magnora ASA. The project will cover approximately 5 hectares (12 acres) and will connect to the grid through the Eskom Garona substation. The substation will be upgraded by the Red Sands project to ensure that full network support capabilities of the project’s batteries can be utilised.

Working closely with leading global battery and balance-of-plant suppliers, Globeleq estimates that the project will require an investment of approximately US$300 million and will take 24 months to construct after financial close, which is expected in 2024.

Globeleq is the largest independent power produce in Africa, providing nearly 1,800 MW of energy in South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt and Cameroon. Globeleq is a UK company based in London and backed entirely with Official Development Assistance (UK aid).

Red Sands will be Globeleq’s first Battery Energy Storage Solutions (BESS) project in South Africa but the Group owns and operates a combined solar and BESS plant at Cuamba in Mozambique, and is developing BESS projects across the African continent. Globeleq also owns and operates 8 renewable plants (6 solar PV, 2 wind) in South Africa with a total generating capacity of 384 MW.

Mike Scholey, Globeleq’s CEO commented:

“I am delighted that we have received Preferred Bidder status for this very important project, and I look forward to working with the government and our partners to take Red Sands to financial close and into operations. Electricity storage is going to be key not only in helping South Africa meet its considerable industrial and domestic demand for energy but also across Africa as more renewable energy projects benefit from the advances our industry has made with BESS technology.”

British High Commissioner to South Africa, Antony Phillipson said:

“This is a significant investment in South Africa’s future. The UK is proud to play such a vital role in helping to tackle the energy crisis with new technology that will bring power supply stability and most importantly support South Africa’s ambition to reduce carbon emissions.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of British High Commission Pretoria.