Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) and CDC lab experts are conducting a COVID-19 lab test at the EPHI Reference lab. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, CDC is working closely with the Federal Ministry of Health, EPHI and other public health partners to ensure the people of Ethiopia have access to better diagnostic services to protect them from COVID-19 and help prevent the further spread of the virus. As part of this effort, CDC experts are working on the frontlines with EPHI leadership as part of the national emergency COVID-19 response team, providing support to improve and expand laboratory testing, epidemiology and surveillance, infection prevention and control, and planning.
Through these response efforts, CDC has embedded two senior laboratorians to provide direct hands-on technical assistance at the national COVID 19 testing laboratory. CDC’s direct support has helped the national laboratory to build its capacity to develop a national testing algorithm for COVID-19, conduct verification of multiple testing kits, and implement quality assurance activities during rapid expansion and decentralization of testing. CDC is also supporting the procurement of supplies for COVID-19 testing to maintain and expand capacity.
Just three months ago, Ethiopia had to send its COVID-19 samples abroad. Now the country is typically testing more than 4000 specimens a day and is planning to open more laboratories in Addis Ababa and in various regional states that are capable of conducting routine COVID-19 testing. This is a critical step in being prepared given the importance of early detection and response during outbreaks of pandemic potential like COVID-19.
CDC Ethiopia has invested more than $64 million to build the capacity of Ethiopia’s laboratories and health facilities to strengthen the country’s public health infrastructure over the past two decades.
EPHI, CDC lab experts conducting a COVID-19 lab test at the EPHI Reference lab
Locust swarm will multiply 20 times in coming years if not contained
The locust swarm in horn of Africa is expected to grow by another 20 times more over the coming years if the fight against the locust does not increase from the current state in the areas.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), more needs to be done to prevent a food security crisis, as the ongoing rainy season not only provides livelihoods for farmers and pastoralists but also favorable conditions for locusts to breed in the countries which are experiencing high level of food insecurity.
Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya has been the hotspots of the locust activity and FAO estimated that more than 20 million people will suffer from food insecurity in the second half of the 2020. Also in Yemen where locusts have been reproducing in hard-to-access inland areas, an additional 17 million people will be acutely food insecure.
The Director-General of FAO, Qu Dongyu said “more people are at risk of losing their livelihoods and worsening food security in the coming months.”
According to the UN agency preliminary estimation indicate that 720,000 tons of food has been saved in ten countries by preventing the spread of desert locust which is enough to feed five million people. An additional 350,000 pastoral households have been spared from distress.
The Desert Locust is considered the most destructive migratory pest in the world and a single swarm covering one square kilometre can contain up to 80 million locusts. FAO’s Desert Locust appeal, launched in January, now covers ten countries – Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Yemen.
While locust control and surveillance operations are led by national governments, FAO is providing critical support in the form of pesticides, bio-pesticides, equipment, aircraft and training.
“We can and must protect vulnerable people from the impact of multiple crises: conflicts, climate extremes, desert locusts and COVID-19, which threaten to cause a further dramatic deterioration in the food security,” Qu said. “To do this, we need to intensify our efforts further and focus not just on controls but on supporting the livelihoods of farmers and pastoralists so they can get through this.”
Since FAO launched its desert locust response in January, its appeal has been funded with $130 million, the report said. However, funding has concentrated on locust control activities and much more backing for livelihoods support activities is needed.
In related development Ministers responsible for Agriculture and Livestock of the Member States of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), including representation from Saudi Arabia and Yemen, held a virtual ministerial meeting with key desert locust control organizations to upscale desert locust control operations and boost coordination efforts between IGAD and the Middle East region.
Discussions revolved around current control operations, surveillance, contingency plans, infestation mapping and impacts. Also present were representatives from international and regional organizations involved in Food Security and Nutrition, and Desert Locust Control Operations (DLCO-EA, CRC, ICIPE, FAO and other UN Agencies, Development Partners and Non-Governmental Organizations).
The objective of the inter-regional meeting was to provide a platform for IGAD Member States, neighbours, regional and international partners to share experiences in pest control, deliberate on establishing a Joint Inter-Regional Contingency and Response Action Plan, that will guide the upscaling of cross-border and cross-regional control operations, improve coordination and join efforts to contain the desert locust invasion both in the IGAD region as well as in the breeding areas of the Arabian Peninsula.
Ethiopia invites companies for expressions of interest to issue telecom licenses
The Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) invites interested companies to come up with Expressions of Interest (EOI) to award two new telecommunications licenses.
The government invited interested companies to be shareholder at the state monopoly Ethio Telecom on its program to liberalize the sector.
The recently formed authority has now invited interested companies to take the proposed two licenses to be part of the competition with the oldest and only telecom enterprise in the country, Ethio Telecom.
In a statement the authority sent to Capital on Thursday May 21, the ECA is managing the license issuance process, which is a major development in the liberalization of Ethiopia’s telecommunications market.
“The issuance of the two new licenses to telecommunications companies, in addition to the existing license held by Ethio Telecom, is part of the government of Ethiopia’s Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda to introduce competition into the sector,” it added.
ECA stated that the primary goals of the government are to increase access to reliable and efficient communications services for all Ethiopians, leading to improvements in quality of life and in connectivity to support rapid economic transformation, and to maximize the opportunity presented by the digital economy.
Few weeks ago the government has tabled a draft proclamation of electronic transaction that targets to develop digital economy, improve the capability of the technology and expand the job creation in the sector.
“The launch of the EOI represents a significant milestone. Since the public consultation held in November 2019, we have undertaken a number of important activities, such as hiring the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as a transaction advisor and drafting numerous directives that will shape a robust legal and regulatory framework,” the ECA statement said.
Late April the authority drafted a new guideline for the award of new telecom licenses following the new telecommunications regulatory framework.
The two weeks consultation on proposed rules for licensing new entrants into the country’s telecom sector, alongside related directives on consumer rights and dispute resolutions stayed until May 11.
According to its statement issued on Thursday, the authority said that the sector liberalization process is continuing amid the Covid-19 crisis which shows the government’s strong will to fight the pandemic while keeping track of the ongoing economic reforms.
“The pandemic has underscored the importance of having reliable and accessible telecommunications to ensure the safety and well-being of Ethiopians and to maintain business continuity. Therefore, we remain committed to opening up the telecom sector and unlocking the transformational power of the digital economy,” it said.
Fitsum Assefa, Commissioner of Planning and Development Commission told Capital that COVID 19 enforced it to redefine its Ten Year Perspective Development Plan. Fitsum said that COVID 19 has given a lesson to redefine the plan. She emphasized the improvement of technology is mandatory for the growth in the coming years by showing how the current electronic operation and meetings are undertaking because of COVID 19.
“It shows us how things shall be changed and several operations shall be conducted online without physical appearance. We are now providing e learning and other operations that was not going online in the past and it has also improves the day to day activity,” Fitsum explained how the technology transformation would be the next major pillar for the country development.
The EOI will stay until June 22.
Recession, job losses, another pandemic and protectionism are top worries, say industry leaders
Economic distress and social discontent will rise over the next 18 months unless world leaders, businesses and policy-makers work together to manage the fallout of the pandemic. As economies restart, there is an opportunity to embed greater societal equality and sustainability into the recovery, which would unleash a new era of prosperity. These are the findings of COVID-19 Risks Outlook: A Preliminary Mapping and Its Implications, published this week.
The report, produced in partnership with Marsh & McLennan and Zurich Insurance Group, taps into the views of nearly 350 senior risk professionals who were asked to look at the next 18 months and rank their biggest concerns in terms of likelihood and impact for the world and for business. The immediate economic fallout from COVID-19 dominates companies’ risks perceptions. These range from a prolonged recession to the weakening fiscal position of major economies, tighter restrictions on the cross-border movement of goods and people, and the collapse of a major emerging market.
In examining the interconnections between risks, the report also calls on leaders to act now against an avalanche of future systemic shocks such as the climate crisis, geopolitical turbulence, rising inequality, strains on people’s mental health, gaps in technology governance and health systems under continued pressure.
These longer-term risks will have serious and far-reaching implications for societies, the environment and the governance of breakthrough technologies. It reinforces the calls made in the Global Risks Report 2020, where a multistakeholder community rated environmental risks as being among
the top five global risks for the next decade and also warned of the extraordinary stress on health systems.
The latest update provides a preliminary picture of familiar risks, which may be amplified by the crisis and new ones may emerge. Two-thirds of respondents identified a “prolonged global recession” as a top concern for business. One-half identified bankruptcies and industry consolidation, failure of industries to recover and a disruption of supply chains as crucial worries.
With the accelerated digitization of the economy in the midst of the pandemic, cyberattacks and data fraud are also major threats – according to one-half of respondents – while the breakdown of IT infrastructure and networks is also a top concern. Geopolitical disruptions and tighter restrictions on the movement of people and goods are high on the worry list.
A second report, Challenges and Opportunities in the Post-COVID-19 World draws on the experience and insights of thought leaders, scientists and researchers to outline emerging opportunities to build a more prosperous, equitable and sustainable world.
“The crisis has devastated lives and livelihoods. It has triggered an economic crisis with far-reaching implications and revealed the inadequacies of the past. As well as managing the immediate impact of the pandemic, leaders must work with each other and with all sectors of society to tackle emerging known risks and build resilience against the unknown. We now have a unique opportunity to use this crisis to do things differently and build back better economies that are more sustainable, resilient and inclusive,” said Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, World Economic Forum.
Peter Giger, Group Chief Risk Officer, Zurich Insurance Group said “COVID-19 has shown it is crucial to keep existential risks in focus, and climate change is one of these. As we reboot our economies, changes in working practices and in attitudes towards travelling, commuting and consumption all point to new ways to achieve a lower-carbon and more sustainable future.
“The pandemic will have long-lasting effects, as high unemployment affects consumer confidence, inequality and well-being, and challenges the efficacy of social protection systems. With significant pressures on employment and education – over 1.6 billion students have missed out on schooling during the pandemic – we are facing the risk of another lost generation. Decisions taken now will determine how these risks or opportunities play out.”
John Doyle, President and CEO, Marsh, said “Even before the COVID-19 crisis, organizations were faced with a highly complex and interconnected global risk landscape. From cyber threats to supply chains, as well as the well-being of their colleagues, businesses will now rethink many of the structures they formerly relied on. To create the conditions for a speedier recovery and a more resilient future, governments and the private sector need to work together more effectively. Along with major investments to improve health systems, infrastructure, and technology, one of the outcomes of this crisis has to be that societies become more resilient and capable of withstanding future pandemics and other major shocks.”
