Powerful data tools can reveal which crops and foods have the most export potential for trade within the region. These tools can also show how foods fit into value chains. That was the focus of a five-day workshop that aimed to strengthen food trade in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The workshop brought together ECOWAS Commission staff, national statistical offices, trade promotion organizations, and regional research institutes from across the ECOWAS region. Using data analysis, strategic planning, and collaborative engagement, the workshop’s goal was to enhance how agri-food policies and services are managed.

The event ran 4-8 March in the Nigerian capital Abuja, within the framework of the ECOWAS Agricultural Trade (EAT) programme. The event aimed to shed light on export potential and value chain methodologies, with a specific focus on intra-regional trade in the agri-food sector.

Participants learned to navigate agri-food trade data, specifically on priority products targeted by the EAT programme: cassava, corn, rice, tomatoes, pineapple and onions.

Dominic Odoom from the Ghana Statistical Services lauded the tangible impact of the training. He said the tools enabled him to better analyze the export potential of key Ghanaian commodities.

Oluwanikemi Aimola from the National Bureau of Statistics of Nigeria emphasized the importance of understanding both realized trade and untapped export potential of agricultural products and their value chains.

‘This information is pivotal for driving and nurturing MSME growth within the country and the region,’ she said.

Utilizing ITC tools such as Trade Map and Export Potential Map, participants engaged in practical activities and interactive sessions to develop strategies for advancing agri-food value chains. Both tools are free of charge for users in developing countries.

Throughout the intensive workshop, participants collaborated to chart a course towards a more sustainable and prosperous future. Their dedication and insights set the stage for meaningful progress in agri-food trade within ECOWAS.

Thanks to the support of the West Africa Association for Cross-Border Trade (WACTAF), the workshop complemented official trade statistics with information available on informal cross border trade provided by the ECOWAS Informal Cross Border Trade database.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Trade Centre.

Uganda has taken proactive steps to mitigate biorisks and govern dual-use research by being a pioneer country in the WHO African Region to pilot the Global guidance framework for the responsible use of the life sciences: mitigating biorisks and governing dual-use research (the framework).  The Uganda Office of the Prime Minister was entrusted with coordinating this pivotal project in collaboration with the World Health Organization, recognizing its significance in enhancing national and regional biosecurity. 

Since October 2023, key actions have been undertaken, including the national stakeholder engagement workshops. Notably, a stakeholders’ workshop to pilot the framework, which was held from 21 to 23 November 2023, gathered over 80 stakeholders from diverse sectors, fostering awareness and collaborative development of a draft roadmap for implementing the framework in the context of Uganda. 

Subsequently, a technical stakeholders’ workshop, which was convened on 6 –7 March 2024, further reinforced awareness and strategic planning. Over 30 technical experts identified and defined key roles of stakeholders and refined the draft roadmap for effective operationalization of the framework. 

A high-level stakeholders’ sensitization meeting was held on 15 March 2024, marking a significant milestone and showcasing Uganda’s dedication. Attended by over 50 high-level stakeholders, including government officials, heads of institutions, and WHO representatives, the meeting aimed to advocate and secure ownership, national buy-in, commitment and support for the framework’s implementation.  

The opening remarks, led by Dr Monica Musenero, Honourable Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation for Uganda, marked Uganda’s commitment to piloting the framework. Dr Musenero emphasized the need for robust biosafety, biosecurity and dual-use research governance, aligning with Uganda’s aspirations for sustainable development and global health security.  

Dr Daniel Kyabayinze, Director of Public Health, Ministry of Health for Uganda, echoed this commitment, stressing the framework’s role in fostering ethical research practices amid health challenges like COVID-19. Representing WHO, Dr Andrew Niwagaba Bakainaga highlighted the framework’s transformative potential in enhancing research governance and promoting ethics and integrity. These remarks collectively underscored Uganda’s dedication to advancing responsible life sciences use through collaboration and innovation. 

Several presentations were delivered to provide context to the meeting, including an overview of Uganda’s biosafety, biosecurity, and dual-use research governance capacity, laws, and regulations; the rationale for adopting and operationalizing the framework; an introduction to the pilot project; an overview of the framework; and the updated roadmap. Each presentation was followed by vibrant exchanges, discussions and concrete ways forward.  

As a meeting outcome, the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation made a strong commitment by taking the overall lead to advance the domestication and operationalization of the framework in Uganda and assigned the government chief scientist in collaboration with Uganda National Council of Science and Technology (UNCST) to ensure the technical lead in the process of domesticating and operationalizing the framework in Uganda under the general coordination of the Office of the Prime Minister.  

The following next steps were agreed upon: 

government cabinet meeting to sensitize relevant Ministries involved on the framework to adopt the Ministerial statement and commitment and start discussing the mobilization of domestic funding; 

meeting with UNCST to harmonize the project implementation;  

specification of roles and responsibilities and timeframe in the final roadmap for the domestication and operationalization of the framework in Uganda to keep accountability and measure collective successes; 

continued bilateral meetings with other key stakeholders’ groups to secure their engagement and commitment as well as continued awareness raising activities; and  

documentation and dissemination of Uganda’s experience and lessons learned on piloting the Global guidance framework for responsible use of life sciences  

In summary, the Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation outlined concrete actions to advance the framework’s implementation, emphasizing inter-ministerial collaboration and stakeholder commitment. These initiatives reflect Uganda’s proactive stance towards responsible life sciences use, effective governance of dual-use research and global health advancement. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO).

The Kingdom of Eswatini, like the rest of the world, was immensely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, experiencing different waves each affecting an increasing number of people. Between March and December 2020, the country experienced three waves. The reported cases were 6,633 in the first wave increasing to 10,313 cases in the second wave and 45,971 cases in the third wave. Deaths on the other hand also increased from 126 to 524 and 1,212 deaths in the second and third wave respectively in the same reporting period with the case fatality rate being recorded at 2.6% in the third wave. Eighty-two percent of the reported deaths were from people with diagnosed comorbidities with 10% being elderly. Based on this data, the most at risk of dying were the population with comorbidities and the elderly. 

The country is registering more reports of people living with comorbidities (cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and obesity) among the elderly population in general which means that targeting the elderly with the COVID-19 vaccine will also spread the benefit to most people with comorbidities. As such, with this data and other evidence, the need to prioritize the elderly with the vaccines cannot be overemphasized. 

 At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) Eswatini,  within its normative role of providing technical guidance to the Ministry of Health, shared the recommendation on prioritization of the most at-risk population. Furthermore, the guidance was clear on ensuring that countries should prioritize 20% of their populations among which were healthcare workers who formed the front line;  the elderly ( 60 years and older), and those with comorbidities who were deemed most vulnerable to severe illness and death from the virus. Further to this, technical assistance was provided in crafting the National Deployment and Vaccine Roll Out Plan (NDVP)  to clearly stipulate these prioritized population groups and further ensure that the COVID-19 vaccine rollout is implemented in line with the NDVP.   

In March 2021, Eswatini introduced the COVID-19 Vaccine – AstraZeneca initially prioritizing the elderly, healthcare workers, and those with comorbidities in compliance with the recommendation from the World Health Organization. As the rollout progressed, other population groups were targeted starting with the next older age group among the population aged 59 years and below. Despite that, the focus on the initial priority groups of the elderly and those with comorbidities remained unchanged. By December 2022, the vaccine uptake had slowed down with national coverage increasing from 25.7% to a mere 35.5% between December 2021 and December 2022. In December 2022, the coverage among the elderly population was highest (71.5%) compared to the younger age groups (12 to 29 years) who were not a prioritized population group where the coverage was about 34%.  Whilst the national vaccine coverage at the national level is at a low of  36% and falls short of the national target of 70%, among the elderly population, the coverage was comparatively the highest. Prioritization of the high-risk population is one of the positive actions that has helped in increasing vaccine uptake of the vaccine among the most at-risk elderly population. 

Anna Mdluli, a 75-year-old, attributes her motivation to getting vaccinated from the Ministry of Health (MoH) and WHO headquarters’ tireless campaigns that mostly encouraged the elderly to prioritize vaccination since they were more vulnerable compared to the younger demographic. 

“I was afraid. My friends died and I was so touched I could not go to the funeral because I was asking myself, does it mean all elderly people will die – especially if I am exposed? I was among the first people to get vaccinated. I went to Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital (RFM) to get the first dose of the vaccine. I later got the second dose from King Sobhuza II Clinic and took the booster dose of the vaccine as scheduled “. 

The incidence of COVID-19 cases has significantly reduced and according to the MOH, Week 30 report of 2023, there were only three (3) reported active cases and no deaths. In a population of 1.1 million people, there are only 74,969 cumulative reported cases and 1,427 reported deaths. The most affected population remains to be the elderly and those with comorbidities, particularly those who have not been vaccinated. The need therefore to continue not only making the vaccine available but also to provide accurate and timely information for informed decisions to the population at higher risk cannot be overemphasized. 

“I am still in pain that my friends died, and I could not console their families given I was so close to them. Some were looking after their grandchildren, and it was sad that they passed on. In our culture, we must pay respect, and now that even made it more painful because I feared COVID-19 yet the deceased’s kids expected me to go. I have asthma so that added to my fear.” 

Anna’s neighbor contracted COVID-19 but was fortunate enough to come back from the COVID-19 treatment facility at the Mavuso Trade Center in the Manzini region. The community members were afraid of the people who had recovered from COVID-19. Anna reiterates that she got more scared since COVID-19 affected everyone including the educated in the society. Two of her friends, including a school principal, died after contracting COVID-19. Anna’s relative also passed away prompting her to encourage and push her relatives to get vaccinated especially her brothers’ children and other close relatives citing it was better to vaccinate than to not. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – Eswatini.

The ongoing crisis in Sudan has significantly impeded the ability of the WHO office in Sudan to access and deliver essential emergency medical supplies to the regions of the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains.

Due to the limited access and operational capacity in Sudan, the WHO Country Office in Sudan collaborated with WHO South Sudan office to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian commodities from South Sudan and provide the necessary support.

In response to these critical needs, the World Health Organization offices in South Sudan and Sudan collaborated to provide emergency medical supplies to those affected. By leveraging the WHO South Sudan office’s logistical prowess, expertise, and available resources, WHO South Sudan prepositioned the requisite quantities of emergency health kits from existing stockpiles in areas adjacent to the Sudan-South Sudan border, ensuring timely and effective assistance to those in dire need. This joint effort was a testament to the commitment of both offices to cross-border collaboration in addressing critical health issues.

These kits included Inter-Agency Emergency Health Kits, Cholera Investigation and treatment kits, kits for the management of measles, non-communicable diseases, medical complications associated with severe acute malnutrition in children under five, and trauma management and emergency surgery kits. These kits are expected to serve approximately 830 000 people in the conflict-affected Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains areas for the next three months.

The shipment, worth USD 671 414, is the second that the WHO South Sudan has been able to deliver to Sudan since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2023. The dispatch of the supplies is part of WHO’s continuous relief efforts in support of the Sudanese people in the current situation.  

“As logistics plays a critical role in emergency response, we must have a strong logistical capacity to ensure swift delivery of supplies to the affected areas. This includes having robust transportation networks, stockpiles, and an efficient distribution system in place”, said Dr Humphrey Karamagi, WHO Representative for South Sudan. WHO has been working closely with the government to obtain the necessary clearances to ensure smooth delivery of the supplies

Our commitment and willingness to work together with all relevant parties involved in the emergency response is a key factor in effectively addressing the challenges to ensuring the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains areas with much-needed emergency medical supplies, said Dr Karamagi.

Following the outbreak of armed conflict in Sudan, tens of thousands of people fleeing fighting crossed into South Sudan. The WHO supported South Sudan’s Ministry of Health in scaling up its operational readiness and response by deploying multidisciplinary teams of emergency responders to states experiencing a high population influx to ensure the provision of much-needed healthcare services.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – South Sudan.