In Sub-Saharan Africa, the food insecurity situation is further deteriorating due to a wide range of factors, including conflict, terrorism, political instability, natural disasters, extreme weather, infectious diseases and inflation caused by the conflict in Ukraine. The most vulnerable populations including refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), women and children are the most affected.  

This contribution will enable WFP to distribute food assistance such as cereals, pulses, vegetable oil and food vouchers to vulnerable people suffering from severe hunger, food shortage and malnutrition. The project aims to contribute to overall food security by improving food shortage and stabilising food supplies.   

From the contribution, JPY 1.4 billion (about US$9.7 million) will be used to assist the most desperate people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) through emergency food distribution, nutrition assistance and the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) operation which enables uninterrupted delivery. In the DRC, more than 23 million, or 20 percent of the population, are facing crisis or emergency levels of hunger, triggered by intensifying conflict, disease, displacement, and poor infrastructure. The number of displaced families in eastern DRC makes up the largest in the world. 

More than JPY 1.1 billion (about US$7.6 million) will be allocated to provide life-saving food and nutrition assistance as well as school meals to crisis-affected beneficiaries in Chad. The country was already experiencing severe food insecurity and malnutrition due to the climate crisis, global economic headwinds and declining agricultural production, but the outbreak of the Sudan crisis last year has further pressured food-insecure communities with a massive inflow of refugees. 

A further grant of JPY 451 million (about US$3 million) will go to emergency food and nutrition assistance programmes for people in need, including IDPs and host communities in Mali. IDPs are placing a heavy burden on host communities who are already struggling to meet their basic needs. Over half of the IDPs rely entirely on humanitarian assistance to survive. WFP’s assistance is a lifeline to many.

“We appreciate this timely and generous contribution from the Government of Japan targeting as many as 15 ‘hotspot’ countries in Sub-Saharan Africa hit by “3 Cs”: conflicts, climate shocks and soaring costs of food and basic items, to meet the immediate humanitarian needs, strengthen resilience against future shocks and thus address the nexus and the human security in those fragile countries,” said Mr Yasuhiro Tsumura, Director, WFP Japan Relations Office. “This assistance package reflects Japanese constant commitments to Africa renewed in a number of the past Tokyo International Conferences for African Development (TICAD). We look forward to working with Japan and the recipient governments to optimize the impacts of this assistance. With TICAD9 scheduled for 2025, we look forward to Japan taking the lead in improving the food insecurity in Africa.” 

This project is a testimony to the commitment of the Government of Japan to “support the strengthening food security and sustainable agriculture” announced in TICAD8 in August 2022 and further restated in G7 Hiroshima in May 2023.  

Japan has consistently been one of WFP’s top donors. The countries benefitting from this year’s US$34million / JPY 5 billion funding are: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.

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

The Climate Change Crisis is a Child Rights Crisis. Climate change is impacting the lives of children worldwide, as well as Zimbabwe. It creates scarcity in access to safe water and food, has implications on the health of children, increases children’s vulnerability to exploitation and abuse, and jeopardises their well-being, even threatening their survival.

Children are increasingly exposed to climate or environmental hazards like flooding, drought, heat waves, cyclones, and air pollution. As these extreme weather events increase in frequency and ferocity, they threaten children’s lives, jeopardise their access to healthy food for their development, and destroy infrastructure critical to their well-being, such as schools, health care facilities, and children’s playgrounds. For the most vulnerable children, climate impacts worsen their situation, placing additional risk to their rights and further reducing their access to basic services. 

Zimbabwe too is impacted. Climate change is causing frequent occurrences and increasing severity of floods, tropical cyclones, droughts, and heatwaves. The Country is ranked high in the 2021 UNICEF Children’s Climate Risk Index.

While children are the least responsible for climate change, they suffer the biggest brunt of it. Still, children are largely missing from the climate dialogue.

UNICEF today launched a communication campaign to raise awareness on the impact of climate change on children, put children at the centre of the climate change debate, and make the climate budget child-focused. Today, only 2.4 % of Multilateral Climate Funds globally are set aside for children and young people. More funds need to be allocated directly to interventions that benefit children.

UNICEF’s website, www.unicef.org/zimbabwe, will be dedicated to the climate campaign, with studies, research, and stories. The campaign will centre around children by providing them with a platform to share their views and make calls for more child-centered climate funding. It will also run a petition campaign for everyone to join.

To deal with the challenges of climate change, energy and environment UNICEF calls for urgent action on four fronts:

Put children at the centre of climate change policies, strategies, plans and budgets and make them child sensitive.
Empower children and young people to be environmental stewards and climate change agents, allowing them to realise their potential with full participation.
Enable children’s participation in the climate agenda, critical to ensure the future is fit for today’s children and today’s children are fit for the future.
Provide climate resilience services in health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, education and protection, so children can survive, develop and thrive.

In Zimbabwe, UNICEF works with Government and partners to ensure children are an essential part of climate change strategies and disaster response plans.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UNICEF Zimbabwe.

Nearly 70% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa invested in technology in the past 12 months to help boost growth and resilience – an indication that SMEs are embracing the positive impact of technology.

There are numerous opportunities that unlock the full potential of digitalisation for these businesses and the continent, which means addressing barriers, such as infrastructure, connectivity, and the high cost of implementing technology, and developing best practice frameworks for better collaboration.

These are findings from a new report, titled ‘Levelling the SME Playing Field’, jointly launched by Vodacom Group, Vodafone Group and Safaricom. The report is the sixth research paper under the Africa.connected campaign, which aims to drive sustainable development by closing the digital divides in Africa’s key economic sectors through strategic partnerships.

“This report explores the specific challenges SMEs face in Africa and unpacks what needs to be done to help these entrepreneurs overcome these obstacles. Our findings highlight the significant role that technology can play in helping small businesses tap into new opportunities, access finance, increase productivity, reduce costs and enhance their competitiveness,” says Shameel Joosub, Vodacom Group CEO.

The adoption of technology by Africa’s SMEs presents unique challenges. Going beyond inadequate infrastructure and access to connectivity, the findings reveal the greatest difficulty for SMEs is the high cost of technology upgrades and renewals (58,3%), which can prevent small businesses from keeping up with the latest technological advancements. Almost a third of SMEs (32%) are also concerned about a lack of digital skills and knowledge to take full advantage of technology solutions. In addition, the research points to regulatory and compliance issues as stumbling blocks in SMEs’ efforts to digitalise.

The research is based on conversations with 400 SMEs across eight African countries (South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Lesotho), ranging in size from one to 200 employees. These surveys were run in partnership with World Wide Worx, a South African market research business that focuses on trends in information technology and telecommunication.

In Africa, digitalisation has been a game-changer for SMEs, with the respondents highlighting the positive effect of technology on enhancing growth, efficiency, competitiveness and customer service. Furthermore, by using e-commerce platforms, social media, and digital payment solutions, such as M-Pesa, SMEs can expand their reach, access valuable data insights, and streamline operations.

To help drive technology adoption among the continent’s SMEs, the report outlines the importance of sharing best practices, to enable better decision-making and cost-effectiveness. From a knowledge-sharing perspective, these standards foster a learning culture by helping to identify gaps in understanding and making it easier to implement innovative ideas, while also providing an internal knowledge base and reducing the loss of know-how. Furthermore, adopting proven practices and technologies is faster and safer than testing new ones.

“Digital solutions and tools open possibilities for entrepreneurs and small business owners to connect and discuss best practices so that they can learn from each other’s experiences, mitigate common hurdles and maximise their potential. We at Vodacom are keen to partner with small businesses and support them on their journey to success. As a purpose-driven business, our goal is to utilise our networks and our technical capabilities to help SMEs innovate so that together we can create a more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable future for Africa,” says Joosub.

Click here (https://apo-opa.co/4awySQY) to download the paper.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Vodacom Group.

Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received a U.S. Congressional Delegation, led by Chairman of the Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Subcommittee, Republican Congressman August Pfluger, as well as members of the U.S. Congress from the Democratic and Republican parties. The meeting was also attended by Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, and Director of the General Intelligence Service, Major General Abbas Kamel.

Spokesman for the Presidency, Counselor Dr. Ahmed Fahmy, said during the meeting the two sides underscored the robust and firm strategic partnership between Egypt and the U.S., with an emphasis on the role of Congress in strengthening and further promoting these relations toward broader prospects, notably in light of the multiple challenges encountered at both the regional and international levels.

Members of the U.S. Congressional Delegation acknowledged Egypt’s key role in solidifying the pillars of regional security and stability. They also valued the joint coordination between Egypt and the U.S. in an array of fields, which reflects positively on the interests of the two friendly peoples and the region.

The talks tackled the two countries’ collaboration in the areas of security and the fight against terrorism and extremism. There was an agreement on the need to bolster joint efforts in this regard. President El-Sisi emphasized Egypt’s vision with regard to the critical importance of peace and development to dry-up the sources of terrorism and extremism.

The meeting discussed in detail the regional situation, especially in the Gaza Strip. The President reviewed Egypt’s intensified efforts for an immediate ceasefire and the entry of relief aid to save more than two million Palestinians from the enormous human suffering. The President also stressed that it was necessary for the international community to assume its responsibilities in pressing for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire, and preventing the escalation of military operations in the Palestinian city of Rafah, renewing Egypt’s complete rejection of any attempts aimed at displacing the Palestinians from their lands.

The two sides agreed on the gravity of expanding the conflict in the region, which threatens regional and international peace and security. They confirmed that the two-state solution is the guarantor and the way to restore and consolidate security and stability in the region.

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