On Monday, the Sudanese Ministry of Health reported 10 new cases of coronavirus (Covid-19), bringing the total number of cases in the country to 29, with three deaths to date. The authorities have decided to impose a total lockdown in Khartoum, effective from Saturday April 18. Minister of Health Akram El Tom confirmed in a press statement that 10 new cases have been recorded in Sudan. All except one are in Khartoum. The other case was recorded in Abu Hamed in River Nile state. El Tom said that a foreigner has died of coronavirus which raises the number of Covid-19 deaths to three. The minister appealed to the Sudanese people to follow the instructions and the guidance of the Ministry of Health. “Undermining these instructions and guidance will have consequences. Anyone who feels symptoms must come forward,” he said. He further urged the security forces to play their role in protecting health personnel who are on duty.

An Egyptian policeman and seven suspected militants were killed on Tuesday in an exchange of gunfire, the ministry of interior said in a statement late on Tuesday. It said three other policemen had also been wounded. The exchange took place in the al-Amiyira district, the public prosecutor said in a statement. The ministry received information “that there is a terrorist cell, whose elements embrace Takfiri ideology, using several areas as a shelter in eastern and southern Cairo as a starting point to carry out terrorist operations,” the statement said. Egypt uses the term takfiri to refer to Islamist militants who often accuse their victims of being infidels. Two private television stations broadcast what they called footage of the shooting, which Reuters was not immediately able to verify, and asked residents to stay indoors. Weapons and ammunition were found with the suspects, the ministry said. The public prosecutor said a team of investigators has been dispatched to the scene of the attack.

Ethiopia and United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) opened a new hub inside Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport from which COVID-19 supplies, equipment and humanitarian workers will be transported by air across Ethiopia and Africa.
The Addis Ababa Humanitarian Air Hub is part of a United Nations initiative move to scale up procurement and distribution of protective equipment and medical supplies for the COVID-19 response. With guidance and support from the Government of Ethiopia, WFP set up the hub in Addis Ababa and began operations this week.
“The Government is proud to host this hub in Ethiopia on behalf of the global community, said Admasu Nebebe, State Minister in the Federal Ministry of Finance. “We are honoured to be contributing this way to the global endeavour to tackle the coronavirus disease.”
The first cargo flight arrived in Ethiopia on 13 April from the United Arab Emirates loaded with aprons, face shields, gloves, goggles, gowns, masks and thermometers procured by the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) for distribution to 32 African countries.

The agreement, signed between Dong Ho Kim Country Director for KOICA and Turhan Saleh UNDP Resident Representative in April 2020, brings 3.3 million USD from KOICA and a 1m contribution from UNDP to launch a five-year project focusing on supporting ICT-based business start-ups and SMEs to create quality jobs in Ethiopia.
Urban unemployment in Ethiopia is currently 19% and 25% amongst Ethiopian youth. The project will contribute to the transformation of the economy through promoting innovation and tech-based start-ups and SMEs that would enhance job creation for the growing youth population in Ethiopia. The project will also facilitate loan guarantee scheme for ICT based start-ups and SMEs to address their financial needs.
UNDP brings to this partnership its expertise around promoting sustainable development, eradication of poverty and advancement of women in Ethiopia as well as numerous other countries.
In the past UNDP had established trust and partnerships with SMEs in Ethiopia through other interventions. This includes promoting SME engagement in rural energy technologies, as well as through Ethiopia’s entrepreneurship development programme launched in 2013 in partnership with the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, which has trained over 90,000 entrepreneurs and 32,000 SMEs in the country.