National Tuberculosis (TB) Research Conference officially opened in Addis Ababa on March 21, 2024, with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in attendance.  Organized by the Ministry of Health and partners, the event ran until March 24th, culminating with the celebration of World TB Day.

Unique to this year were outdoor activities to educate the public that included a police march, a public sport activity between Addis Ababa Municipality and EPHI staff, social and mainstream media public awareness campaigns, and graduation of TB patients that completed an income generating capacity building activity.

USAID made three funding announcements at the conference. Mission Director (MD) Scott Hocklander shared the news that Ethiopia is one of a limited number of countries that will benefit from the new “USAID Global Accelerator Plus Initiative,” to help end TB by 2030.

Renewable Capacity Statistics 2024 released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) today shows that 2023 set a new record in renewables deployment in the power sector by reaching a total capacity of 3 870 Gigawatts (GW) globally. Renewables accounted for 86% of capacity additions; however, this growth is unevenly distributed across the world, indicating a trend far from the tripling renewable power target by 2030.

The 473 GW of renewables expansion was led once again by Asia with a 69% share (326 GW). This growth was driven by China, whose capacity increased by 63%, reaching 297.6 GW. This reflects a glaring gap with other regions, leaving a vast majority of developing countries behind, despite massive economic and development needs. Even though Africa has seen some growth, it paled in comparison with an increase of 4.6%, reaching a total capacity of 62 GW.

Africa Global Logistics (AGL), a leading player in logistics and port operations in Africa, officially launched the activities of its subsidiary AGL Lobito Terminal (ALT) during a ceremony presided over by the honorable Dr. Ricardo Viegas de Abreu, Minister of Transport of Angola. The event was attended by AGL’s President Philippe Labonne and officials from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The operations at this terminal are implemented thanks to the 730 employees of AGL Lobito Terminal, as well as the handling equipment, information systems, and container and conventional terminal yards of the Port of Lobito. It thus offers, with a quay depth of 14m, the capacity to accommodate large-capacity ships and handle more than one million tonnes of bulk goods and more than 100,000 TEU containers per year.

Former Somali presidents Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo and Sharif Sheikh Ahmed are showing rare unity as the country debates how to write its new constitution. On Saturday, they converged in Garowe town, the capital of Puntland, one of the Somalia’s Federal Member States. The two former leaders held meetings with Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni and other politicians including legislators from the bicameral parliament in Mogadishu. The move was significant especially since they were on opposing sides during the 2022 presidential election in Somalia…After the meeting, Farmaajo and Ahmed issued a nine-point statement on Sunday, expressing firm opposition to current Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. They blame his administration of initiating changes to the provisional constitution without consulting…Farmaajo and Ahmed saw security as the most pressing issue for Somalia, especially in the face of feared terrorists. (The EastAfrican)