In a critical step towards bolstering Africa’s economic integration, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in collaboration with the African Union (AU) is convening an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on 19 June 2024 in Douala, Cameroon. The meeting aims to evaluate and enhance the implementation of the Boosting Intra-African Trade (BIAT) Action Plan, ensuring that it aligns with the transformative goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Trade integration is recognized as an important driver for inclusive growth and economic development across Africa. Despite Africa’s substantial potential, the continent’s share in global exports remains low at around 3%, highlighting the need for increased intra-African trade and industrialization. Currently, intra-African exports and imports stand at 17.8% and 14.6% respectively, far below the levels observed in Europe and Asia.

Acknowledging this untapped potential, the AU Assembly, during its 18th Ordinary Session in January 2012, adopted the decision to establish the AfCFTA with the goal of creating a unified African market. This initiative aims to foster seamless trade in goods and services, enhance Africa’s global trade position, and drive sustainable socio-economic development.

While the AfCFTA has seen significant strides with 47 out of 54 signatories ratifying the agreement as of April 2024 and trading commencing on January 1, 2021, the BIAT Action Plan’s progress has been limited.

The Douala EGM at Krystal Palace Hotel will serve as a veritable platform to review the draft report titled “Framework for Boosting Intra-African Trade (BIAT), Ten-Years After: Progress, Implementation Challenges, and Implications for the AfCFTA.” The meeting will gather insights from experts, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and other stakeholders to enrich the report’s content, enhance its analytical soundness, and ensure the robustness of its data and recommendations.

BIAT identified seven pivotal clusters: Trade Policy, Trade Facilitation, Productive Capacity, Trade-Related Infrastructure, Trade Finance, Trade Information, and Factor Market Integration focusing on integrating intra-African trade into national strategies, involving the private sector in policymaking, enhancing food products and services, simplifying trade regulations, reducing transit times, optimizing border posts, and integrating border management. Despite significant progress in implementing the AfCFTA, BIAT remains limited, with little information available on its domestication and implementation at regional and national levels.

The meeting will convene participants from the RECs, the African Union Commission, the AfCFTA Secretariat, the African Development Bank (AfDB), Afreximbank, representatives from academia and the private sector.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

World Health Organization (WHO) in the African Region today released groundbreaking new guidance to help strengthen efforts to address the growing threat of sickle cell disease in the region.

Significant for their integrated and holistic approach, the new technical documents offer detailed, actionable strategies and insights to support countries to improve quality of care, make treatment more accessible and boost overall health outcomes.

Despite notable advances in sickle cell disease treatment globally, including newborn screening, hydroxyurea therapy, gene therapy, improved management strategies and expanded immunization programmes that have reduced mortality rates in higher-income countries, significant challenges remain in ensuring equitable access to these treatments in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in the African region.

An estimated 240 000 children on the continent are born with sickle cell disease annually, up to 80% of whom will die from severe infections or acute chest syndrome before age five – the highest sickle cell disease-related childhood death rate worldwide.

“As we continue the fight against sickle cell disease, we are confident that this guidance for countries will serve as a valuable new addition to their toolkit, specifically because the guidance is tailored to the African reality, where a multi-faceted approach is key,” said Dr Benido Impouma, Director, Universal Health Coverage/Communicable&Noncommunicable Diseases Programme at WHO Africa.

The new WHO Africa guidance documents, entitled Guidance Framework for Sickle Cell Disease Management and Harmonized Guide for Sickle Cell Disease Management in Africa, provide countries with strategic guidance for policies, comprehensive care plans and advocacy efforts.

Together, these documents form the WHO SICKLE Package of Interventions for Sickle Cell Disease Management. The SICKLE package aims to provide a holistic and integrated approach to managing sickle cell disease, ensuring access to necessary interventions, promoting education and advocacy, enhancing the quality of care, and empowering patients and communities.

Developed with financial support from the Government of Monaco, and other partners, the package reflects a combination of the latest research, best practices and innovative approaches to sickle cell disease management, making them essential tools for health care providers, policymakers and advocates alike.

WHO Africa has been at the forefront of the fight against sickle cell disease since 2010, focusing its efforts on, among other things, disease interventions and their scale-up, and access to innovative treatment technologies and medicines.

Progress to date includes the adoption by several countries  of accurate and inexpensive point-of-care screening, together with the use of Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound screening. The availability in 11 countries of hydroxyurea, a medication that is extremely effective in preventing episodes of pain, consequently reducing visits to health care centres, is also significant.

Despite the advances, major challenges persist. These range from limited health care infrastructure, lack of awareness and education and inadequate access to comprehensive care, limited newborn screening, poor research and development, and restricted access to advanced treatments.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of WHO Regional Office for Africa.

As countries across Africa continue addressing their respective energy challenges, requiring diverse solutions for unique situations, GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE: GEV) (www.GEVernova.com) remains committed to keep electrifying and decarbonizing the continent and will be a lead sponsor of the Africa Energy Forum (www.Africa-Energy-Forum.com) taking place in Barcelona, Spain from June 25 – 28, under the theme Energy Systems of the Future – Balancing Africa’s Needs with Global Goals. The event brings together the continent’s key stakeholders, investors, and future leaders, covering vital areas such as project developments, technology innovations, and cross-sector opportunities and collaborations.

A recent report (https://apo-opa.co/4cpI3DJ) reveals that about 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa – up to 50% of the region’s population – do not have access to electricity. Moreover, power demand is forecasted to grow further by about 3% in 2024, emphasizing the need to balance energy transition aspirations with electricity availability. GE Vernova’s team of industry experts plan to exchange ideas on and share best practices to accelerate the path to more reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy for the continent at several sessions at the Africa Energy Forum, including: Tackling Grid Challenges to Improve Energy Systems; The African Gas Conundrum: Is it a Transitional Enabler or Not?; Investing in Senegal: A World Class Energy Partner; and Leveraging New Technologies to Lower Emissions and Promote Balance Across Energy.

Joseph Anis, President&CEO of Europe, Middle East&Africa for Gas Power at GE Vernova says: “Progress is indelibly linked to uninterrupted power supply in modern society. Investing in reliable and affordable electricity generation is as critical as advancing lower carbon power to support health, connectivity, safety, security, and improved quality of life. Accelerating Africa’s energy transition efforts will require cross-sector collaboration among the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors; the strategic deployment of multiple energy sources, including renewables and gas power; and investments in the grid together with software solutions. These steps can enable substantive reductions in emissions quickly and at scale, while advancing the technologies for low or near-zero carbon power generation and helping to meet the continent’s growing energy needs.”

GE Vernova spun-off from GE (NYSE: GE) and began trading as an independent company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on April 2, 2024. With approximately 55,000 wind turbines and 7,000 gas turbines globally, the company’s technology base helps generate about 25% of the world’s electricity and has a meaningful role to play in the energy transition. In Africa, GE Vernova-built technologies comprise up to 40% of installed power generation capacity. The company serves up to 260 customers across the continent and has a legacy of over 120 years of presence in Africa, supporting the development of critical infrastructure. It works across the electricity value chain on the continent, from generation through various power sources including wind, hydro, gas, and more, to providing transmission, distribution, and software solutions.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of GE.

Media Contact: 
Abeer Masood
Communications Director – Middle East&Africa
GE Vernova
+971 55 945 0118
abeer.masood@ge.com

Join the Conversation:
Follow #GEVernovaAtAEF and around the region on LinkedIn (https://apo-opa.co/3zbFiaL).

About GE Vernova:
GE Vernova (NYSE: GEV) is purpose-built global energy company that includes Power, Wind, and Electrification segments and is supported by its accelerator businesses. Building on over 130 years of experience tackling the world’s challenges, GE Vernova is uniquely positioned to help lead the energy transition by continuing to electrify the world while simultaneously working to decarbonize it. GE Vernova helps customers power economies and deliver electricity that is vital to health, safety, security, and improved quality of life. GE Vernova is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., with approximately 75,000 employees across 100+ countries around the world. Supported by the Company’s purpose, The Energy to Change the World, GE Vernova technology helps deliver a more affordable, reliable, sustainable, and secure energy future.

GE Vernova’s mission is embedded in its name – it retains its legacy, “GEV,” as an enduring and hard-earned badge of quality and ingenuity. “Ver” / “verde” signal Earth’s verdant and lush ecosystems. “Nova,” from the Latin “novus,” nods to a new, innovative era of lower carbon energy. Supported by the Company Purpose, The Energy to Change the World, GE Vernova will help deliver a more affordable, reliable, sustainable, and secure energy future. Learn more: GE Vernova (www.GEVernova.com) and LinkedIn (https://apo-opa.co/4ewWN5q).

Hear From GE Vernova’s Experts: 
GE Vernova’s team of industry leaders will be available to talk about the future of energy and how we can supply more reliable, affordable, and sustainable power in the context of growing electricity needs, to keep powering Africa forward. If you wish to arrange an interview on the following topics with the leaders noted below, please reach out to Abeer Masood (Abeer.Masood@ge.com):

The future of energy and the role of gas power generation in Africa’s energy transition: Joseph Anis, President&CEO, Europe, Middle East&Africa, Gas Power at GE Vernova; Kenneth Oyakhire, MD&CEO Services, Sub-Saharan Africa, Gas Power at GE Vernova
Developing the grid of the future in Africa: Bernard Dagher, Chief Strategy&Growth Officer, Middle East&Africa, Grid Solutions at GE Vernova
Innovations in gas power – pre and post combustion solutions (low carbon fuels, hydrogen, carbon capture, etc.): Otmane Benamar, Chief Technology Officer, Europe, Middle East&Africa, Gas Power at GE Vernova

Competition is fierce for money for small-scale quick impact projects funded by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to improve the living conditions of local communities.

So far, residents in Ikotos County have missed out, but following a two-day workshop organized by the peacekeeping mission, that may change.

“Now we better understand the importance of involving women in identifying and implementing projects that could benefit everyone, without leaving us women out,” said Alice Nabol, who returned to South Sudan last year, having spent some time in a refugee camp in neighbouring Uganda.

Ms. Nabol was among the 55 locals participating in the workshop, where community leaders, local authorities and representatives of civil society organizations improved their know-how when it comes to applying for UNMISS funding for community projects.

Those in attendance learnt that initiatives that are inclusive are more likely to receive resources, and the same goes for ideas their entire communities back and are enthusiastic about.

“We need to own our own projects and collaborate closely with UNMISS and other partners. We can help by actively participating in the implementation of these initiatives, by providing security, and in other ways,” said Paul Lomudang, a village chief.

The people of Ikotos County have their relative geographical remoteness working against them, with state capital Torit being far away. Their location, in turn, has led to communities rarely having adequate support infrastructure and access to basic services, making it difficult for national and international development partners to operate in the area.

“Enhancing the capacity and skills of our local partners in Ikotos will play a major role in increasing their chances of landing funding for much-needed development initiatives when we start receiving new project proposals,” explained Christine Fone, who works for the UNMISS Protection, Transition and Reintegration section that is responsible for the peacekeeping mission’s quick impact project programme.

After the workshop, County Commissioner Timon Loboi was upbeat.

“This has been an eye opener for all of us in Ikotos. Now we understand why our previous proposals have not been successful and are much better prepared as we move forward,” he said.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).