Kenya has granted approval for the allocation of 10 acres of prime land and USD 2 million for the establishment of the Eastern Africa Regional Coordinating Centre (EA-RCC). 

Health Cabinet Secretary Nakhumicha S. Wafula announced this during the 2nd Africa CDC Eastern Africa Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (ReSCO) meeting in Nairobi today. 

The centre, to be located in Nairobi, will coordinate Africa CDC partnerships and activities in the 14 Member States of the Eastern Africa region, while also strengthening surveillance, laboratory systems, and public health communications. 

Kenya remains committed to enhancing its capacity to detect and respond swiftly to disease threats and outbreaks, aligning with CDC’s mission. 

The RCCs function as hubs for Africa CDC surveillance, preparedness, and emergency response activities, coordinating regional public health initiatives by Member States. 

Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director-General of Africa-CDC, commended Kenya’s efforts towards achieving Universal Health Coverage and community health during the meeting.

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

Kenya is offering robust opportunities for trade and investments to local and global companies and businesses, President William Ruto has said.

He said the country has undertaken radical, but attractive transformation measures in the trade and investment regime, including creating Special Economic Zones.

“All major brands in need of an African foothold starts in kenya. This has led to a steady rise on Kenya’s global appeal,” the President explained.

President Ruto outlined the numerous opportunities in agriculture, banking and finance, construction, mining, blue economy, human capital development renewable energy and the digital economy, among others.

The President was speaking during AMCHAM Business Summit in Nairobi. Also present were United States Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Kenya Investment and Trade Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano, US Ambassador to Kenya Met Whitman and representatives of many American and Kenyan companies, and government officials.

President Ruto spoke of a paradigm shift in the way the world views Africa, saying the old narrative of Africa as a place of challenges has been debunked.

Instead, he pointed out that Africa is appropriately being seen as a continent of opportunities and solutions where investment would give a good return on investment.

“In the past, the continent was perceived as a region about war and diseases. But as African leaders, we have made a deliberate decision to showcase Africa as a continent of opportunities,” he said.

The President said Kenya and the United States enjoy cordial relations grounded in shared values of democracy and trade.

He pointed out that the government aims at eradicating poverty under the country’s Bottom Up Economic Agenda.

Ms Raimondo said President Biden’s government was embracing a win-win relationship with other partners, including Kenya.

“Africa is shaping global economic culture and politics. The narrative has changed completely and my job is to tell the story back home and let the multinationals know what Kenya has to offer,” she said.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of President of the Republic of Kenya.

As Africa races against time to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and the Malabo Commitments to end hunger by 2025, the continent faces formidable challenges aggravated by climate change, inflation, and regional conflicts. The urgency to reevaluate financing mechanisms is increasingly recognized, with a growing emphasis on mobilizing domestic resources and exploring innovative financing solutions to bolster agricultural development.

In an event at the 10th African Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD) held in Addis Ababa, a clarion call has been issued to policymakers to center their policies around the needs of farmers and enhance access to funding in the agricultural sector.

The imperative to empower farmers and provide them with adequate financial resources is underscored as essential steps towards eradicating hunger, achieving food security, sustainable development, and realizing the broader objectives of the African Union Agenda 2063.

During a session themed ” Harnessing the potential of innovative financing for reinforcing CAADP implementation towards Africa free of hunger and sustainable, resilient agri-food systems,” Mr. Godfrey Bahiigwag, Director of the Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy Directorate at the African Union Commission, emphasized the critical role of farmers in driving progress and development in Africa.

The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), a cornerstone initiative of Agenda 2063, outlines ambitious targets for transforming African agriculture by 2025, including the commitment of African governments to allocate at least 10% of national budgets to agriculture and rural development. However, the participants at ARFSD stressed that there is a pressing need for concrete action to translate these commitments into tangible outcomes on the ground.

Private sector engagement is identified as critical in driving investments and innovation in Africa’s agri-food and nutrition sector, offering critical resources and expertise to address the complex challenges facing the agricultural landscape. “By fostering collaborative efforts and forging strategic partnerships, stakeholders can amplify the impact of CAADP, fortifying Africa’s agricultural systems and advancing the goal of food security across the continent”, said Mr. Menghestab Haile, Regional Director for Southern Africa, WFP

Participants at the meeting echoed the sentiment that Africa stands at a transformative moment in its development trajectory, where innovative financing mechanisms hold the key to unlocking the vast agricultural potential of the continent. By placing farmers at the center of development efforts and enhancing access to funding, Africa can pave the way for a better future of all its people.

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

To bolster national planning activities, policymakers have been urged to embrace digital tools to foster greater transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness. 

The call to action was made during the meeting on “Leveraging Digital Technologies for Integrated Planning to Advance the SDGs and Agenda 2063 in Times of Multiple Crises”, which took place as a side event at the Tenth Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-10). 

Mr Antonio Pedro, Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), stressed the importance of technology in supporting development planning systems. He said that while many countries do an excellent job of identifying their priorities through extensive stakeholders’ consultation, the number of identified priorities is often so numerous that implementation becomes a challenge. 

To address this challenge, ECA developed the Integrated Planning and Reporting Tool (IPRT), a web-based tool designed to enhance the effectiveness of planning. The IPRT aims to strengthen planning systems by leveraging technology, allowing for the digital tracking of national, provincial  and sector plans in alignment with annual budgets and international commitments such as SDGs and Agenda 2063. 

Mr Bartholomew Armah, Chief of Development Planning in the Macroeconomics and Governance Division at ECA highlighted the tool’s ability to facilitate integrated and coherent planning, addressing the issue of disconnected planning frameworks at various levels and ensuring alignment with global commitments. “The IPRT represents a significant step forward in the integration of multiple development agendas into national development plans, offering a harmonized approach to progress reporting”, he said.

Ms.  Annette Griessel, Deputy Director General of National Planning Coordination at the South African Department of Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation (DPME), highlighted the transformative role of technology in redressing the development disparities created by South Africa’s apartheid past.

She noted the progress made in reforming the planning system, ensuring their alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Africa’s Agenda 2063,  “which is seen as a cornerstone in building a capable developmental state”. 

The IPRT has already been deployed in more than 30 countries with ongoing efforts to ensure its use by other countries on the continent. It makes the tracking of performance on the indicators of the National development plan more user-friendly.

The e-meeting was organized by ECA’s Macroeconomics and Governance Division and the Office for Eastern Africa.

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