The Environment Forest and Climate Change Commission is taking steps to completely ban the production and import of single use plastic bags in an attempt to protect the environment.
It is preparing legislation which will be enacted after ratification by the House of Peoples Representatives (HPR) in the near future.
Plastic bags used for selling, packing, and disposing garbage are made of polythene, a plastic that affects terrestrial as well as aquatic animals, and plants. According to the Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Commission, most countries had banned the production of the plastic bags, whereas, some of them have tried their best to recycle the plastic materials.
In Africa alone, countries like South Africa, Botswana, Egypt, Eritrea, Uganda, and Tanzania have banned either producing or importing of plastic bags. This is mainly because of the easy accessibility, comfort to handle, and cheap price of the bags.
In Proclamation No. 513/1999, Ethiopia bans either producing or importing of easily decomposable plastic bags with thickness of less than 0.03mm or any indecomposable plastic bag. However, both indecomposable and decomposable plastic bags with less than the mentioned thickness have been found almost everywhere in the country.
In a recent study by the Addis Ababa Trade and Industry Bureau, 12 plastic bag producers were producing thin plastic under 0.03 millimeters.
Plastic bags release pollutant chemicals to the surrounding areas where pollutants are dissolved in the underground water and affect the lives of the people and animals that use it. When these bags decompose, they produce methane, a greenhouse gas.
“Banning production and use of these plastic bags is not a choice rather a must to do action for environmental protection authority adding that the commission is planning to ban the production and use of environmentally hazardous plastic substances,” Girma Gemechu, Solid and Hazardous Waste Compliance Monitoring Director, says.
The Authority suggests the use of bags made of paper, leather, and clothes as options once the plastic bags are banned.
According to the study made by Mulu Solomon, Plastic bags are largely used for shopping in Ethiopia with an estimated yearly local production of 10,000 tones apart from the importation. At least 2 million plastic bags are handed out every month.
A lack of proper waste management and collection mechanism is the main problem of using plastic bags in Ethiopia.
“Once it is legislated, the authority says it will follow up the strict implementation of the law. Till then, the public will continue to live with the hazards of plastic bags”, adds the director.
According to Conservation Now, each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide.
Plastic bag ban imminent
Over 80,000 women die from cervical cancer in Africa
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a group of viruses that are extremely common worldwide, kills more than 80,000 women in Africa.
This figure was reported at a press conference in Addis Ababa on the outcomes of the Africa Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Summit on Thursday, October 3, 2019.
Cervical cancer is caused by sexually acquired infection via certain types of HPV which cause 70 percent of cervical cancers and pre-cancerous cervical lesions.
According to the report, there are more than 100 types of HPV, of which at least 14 are high risk type cancer-causing, which is mainly transmitted through sexual contact. Most people are infected with HPV shortly after the onset of sexual activity.
“There is also evidence linking HPV with cancers of the anus, vulva, vagina, penis and oropharynx,” said Phionah Atuhebwe, New vaccine Introduction Medical Officer at WHO regional office based in Congo Brazzaville.
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women aged 15 to 44 living in less developed countries. So far, only 14 African countries have begun HPV vaccines and 12 percent of low-income countries have started the HPV vaccine.
In 2018, approximately 311 000 women around the world died from cervical cancer; more than 85 percent of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries.
In Ethiopia HPV vaccines were given in two regions namely Somalia and Tigray which also struggled with cholera.
Who recommends, screening and treatment of pre-cancer lesions in women who are 30 years or older, as a cost-Effective way to prevent cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer can be cured if diagnosed at an early stage. Clinical trials and post-marketing surveillance have shown that HPV vaccines are very safe and effective in preventing infections with HPV infections.
There are currently 3 vaccines protecting against both HPV, however the costs are expensive, up to 200 USD for one dose.
For countries that are eligible for the Gavi, Immunization Alliance, the cost will be reduced to around 9 USD.
Africa has an estimated population of 372.2 million women aged 15 years and older who are at risk of developing cervical cancer.
As a good success story, so far, Rwanda became the first low-income country to provide universal access to the HPV vaccine and the first African country to begin an HPV national roll-out with Gavi support.
To prevent the spread of HPV, WHO recommended that teenagers and young adults ages 11–27 should get vaccinated against the virus.
“Cervical cancer is one of the few cancers that can be eradicated. However, Africa’s burden in fighting other diseases like Malaria, Ebola, and Cholera hindered the move in the immunization endeavor, in addition to the lack of leadership commitment and advocacy,” she said.
PM launches Chinese funded beautifying Sheger project
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has officially launched the 12km section of the 56km ‘Beautifying Sheger Project’ funded by Chinese government on October 1, 2019.
The Beautifying Sheger Project is a three-year initiative of the Prime Minister aimed at elevating the city to a site of urban tourism by rehabilitating water bodies.
The first phase of the project will be built by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) with a grant secured earlier this year from the Chinese Government.
The Premier has discussed the plan with the engineers of China Urban Construction Design and Research Institute during his visit to China some months ago while attending the Belt and Road Forum.
The Beautifying Sheger project runs along the rivers of Addis Ababa, developing 56km of green spaces starting from Entoto to Akaki which is believed to cost 29 billion birr.
The first part of the Chinese funded section should cost 50 million USD and take eight months.
“We are behind you Prime Minister,” said Tan Jingmin ambassador of China to Ethiopia. “We will help to build this Sheger project a land mark in Ethiopia as well as in Africa.”
This part of the Beautifying Sheger Project includes the construction of Central Square and treatment of 12 km of river running from Entoto Mountain to Peacock which includes cleaning up and rehabilitating the river side.
“The project is intended to make Addis Ababa live up to its name,” the PM said.
“Ethiopia’s existence and prosperity relies on the hard work and commitment of its people and nothing can deter Ethiopia’s journey towards prosperity,” stressed Prime Minister Abiy.
A fundraising dinner called, ‘Dine for Sheger’ in May to mobilize resources for the implementation of the project, brought business owners, company CEOs, international organizations, heads and members of the diplomatic community and countries to buy tickets at 5,000,000 Birr per plate raising over 1.2 billion birr.
“I personally will follow the project every single day to deliver as it is promised,” said the Prime Minister.
According to the officials from CCCC, more than 200 Chinese professionals will work together with Ethiopians 24 hours a day to execute the projects on time.
The second one is scheduled to begin after three months and end in the second quarter of 2021 and involves the construction of central plaza which includes the palace of science and technology as well as children’s paradise and art garden.
Senior government officials, including the Minister of Finance, Ahmed Shide, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Seleshi Bekele, and Deputy Mayor of Addis Ababa city, Takele Uma, attended the launching ceremony of the project.
Presently, the green cover of Addis Ababa is estimated to be 0.3 meter square per capita and the sheger project is expected to lift the per capita to seven square meters.
Huge Chinese genomics firm starts up in Addis
The Ethiopian Biotechnology Institute (EBTi), Ethiopian Academy of Sciences (EAS) and Beijing Genomics Institute Group (BGI), a genome sequencing company or DNA sequence, signed a tripartite letter of intent for the Chinese company to establish an African branch in Addis Ababa.
China Shenzhen is the world’s biggest genomics firm. BGI is going to open its Africa base in Ethiopia.
Even though the company is relatively new and was formed 20 years ago, the Shenzhen based company is the biggest global genomics enterprise.
It was popular before but now it is the best institute in relation to genomic sector that samples from every corner of the world send to the company for sequencing and analyzing the sequence, according to Kassahun Tesfaye, Director General of EBTi.
He said that they have best technological and bioinformatics knowledge capacity than anywhere. “in every sequencing project in the world BGI is there,” he added.
“As Ethiopia is partnering with them it is a good move since we have targets to expand the bio technology sector,” the EBTi head said.
The tripartite agreement focuses on BGI intent to establish BGI-Africa (African genomic institute as a branch of BGI) in Addis Ababa, EBTi will play a facilitation role in the establishment of BGI Africa in Addis Ababa and formation of mutually beneficial cooperative projects between Ethiopian institutions and BGI.
Based on the agreement the EAS role is facilitating of training for young researchers in genomic and bioinformatics skills at BGI through a comparative process.
In February 2018 the Ethiopian institute and the company signed a memo that is now upgraded with the latest intent. This agreement included the Ethiopia side to provide some sort of space, while the Chinese firm will send equipment to the lab that will be under the control of the institute.
On the first scale the lab will be service provider than market oriented. “Our main vision is establishing BGI Africa Genomic Institute in Ethiopia but at this phase in our lab forming BGI’s small lab and giving sequence facility that gradually will be changed to the continental center,” the bio expert told Capital.
He said that recently they have opened facility in South Africa that Ethiopia want to follow the same modality.
“The major thing is owning the sequencing database here. At the current stage sequencing is being undertaken in other places that means the data is deposited at the sequence center that shall raise the ownership claim,” Kassahun said.
“In the future genetic information has become money so owning the sequence and data indicates that we shall gain from it and enable to establish a bank here. If Ethiopian materials that can be animal, human, plant or bacteria are sequenced here then we shall have ownership on the data,” he clarified.
At the current level the country may get the sequence but the data deposited at the genomic centers out of the country.
Regarding pre-health conditions the Chinese firm is engaged on several tests that will be commenced here when the lab is formed. It is also good for the agriculture sector, according to Kassahun.
“Prenatal screening, hereditary cancer screening, testing for rare diseases and in aiding precision medicine research and shall be tested in the Ethiopian lab,” he said.
“Ethiopian’s bio diversity on microbial, plants and animals is very rich but we don’t use it properly because of capacity,” he says. “Capacity means is the laboratory infrastructure when we have it we can sequence and we look up how to use the resources and claim the ownership of the data.”
The lab shall be realized in the current budget year and they will provide support in kind, while Ethiopian technicians will train at their facility and will manage the lab.
According to the agreement the lab technicians will be Ethiopian and the operational cost will be cover by the Ethiopian side.
“Using Ethiopian technicians shall also boost human capital in the sector, which is a good advantage to expand the genomic sector,” he said.
BGI Genomics is a publicly listed commercial genomics company, providing a wide range of next generation sequencing services and a broad portfolio of genetic tests for medical institutions, research institutions and other public and private partners.
Established in 1999 is providing genomics expertise in order to advance life science research and improve human health for the benefit of mankind.
Numerous scientific partners, healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies rely on the world leading bio-informatics research and development, large scale computing infrastructure for data output and storage, and proprietary sequencing platforms.
Besides different labs in China the company has offices and laboratories in different countries in Asia Pacific region, North America and Europe.
