The 6th World Polio Day was celebrated in Mekelle last week, Oct. 24, reaffirming a commitment to stopping the last remaining one percent of the disease for good. During the opening of the program, Teguest Yilma, National Polio Plus Committee deputy chair stressed that Polio should be the second disease eradicated in history.
“It is an extraordinary success for Ethiopia to achieve polio free status and it allows us to look ahead with great joy towards Polio endgame projects,” Teguest said in her address. “Still, we realize that now is not the time to rest, as the danger is lurking around. The status of Ethiopia as non-infected with Polio is threatened with the existence of the virus in neighboring countries like Somalia.”
Rotary International has been engaged in the eradication of polio worldwide for the past three decades, and in Ethiopia since 22 years.
The celebration was held, in the presence of health minister Amir Aman and state ministers Dr. Kebede Worku, Seharela Abdulahi and Berhanu Feyisa during the Health Sector Annual Review Meeting, where all stakeholders of the fight against polio were in attendance.
In addition to ministry of health representatives across the country, NGOs, hospitals, Rotarians and Rotaractors, partners and allies attended the event.
Delegates from Core Group, Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation, CDC, USAID, UNICEF and WHO addressed the attendees of the conference. They reiterated the need to raise awareness against Polio and to unite communities to fight it emphasizing the necessity to increase joint efforts from all health partners to stem the spread of polio virus.
A joint statement between UNICEF, Rotary and WHO noted two simultaneous potential outbreaks in the Horn of Africa due to vaccine-derived poliovirus. Outbreaks of vaccine-derived poliovirus can be stopped in the same way as wild polio by vaccinating every child, according to the statement.
“The Governments of Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, as well as countries across the Horn of Africa, are committed to working together to stop the outbreaks as soon as possible.”
The number of polio cases has decreased globally from 350,000 every single year in 1988 to just 22 in 2017.

The Ethiopian National Cultural Center has appealed to the Prime Minister’s office after over 200 federal police officers came to the center and began making a temporary shelter there. Previously the police lived at a camp next to the center.
Plans are underway by the Cultural Center for constructing a building on the 34,500sqm space to display cultural artifacts of Ethiopian Nations Nationalities and Peoples.
Seble Abebe, public relations officer at the center told Capital that the police began living in the room without any approval from the appropriate government office. “A week ago the federal police came in to the center and placed six million birr worth of property in the new building’s construction site and began living there. We have told them that this is inappropriate and that the center is to promote our national culture.”
“However they have not left and have begun creating more shelters in the area, we are appealing to the PM office, the Police Commission and the Addis Ababa City Administration. We are willing to go to court if necessary.” She added that the new building will cost USD 260,000 and will allow for more space which they desperately need.
The Federal Police Commission said they will soon search for another camp and that police only stayed there because there was a shortage of places to camp.
Gezahegn Abate, Public Relations Head of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said making a shelter at the Cultural Center is completely unacceptable.
“We can’t express in words the value of police in protecting our country but we should oppose them when they are doing the wrong thing. The aim of the cultural center is to advocate our cultural dances, clothes and artifacts for the public and sheltering there is not what we expected from the police.”

Addis Ababa Small and Micro Enterprise organization has developed a plan to construct 2,000 kiosks which can generate electricity from sunlight in the ten sub cities of the capital.
The kiosks which will be administered by the Enterprise’s Work Place Development and Administration Agency will potentially create job opportunities for 4,000 people. Kiosk operators will able to use the power during the day and continue operating late into the night.
The construction of the kiosks will start this fiscal year. It has not been revealed yet how much the construction will cost. The idea of the kiosks came to a reality after a long-term study by Addis Ababa University.
Side roads, bus and train station, junctures, areas near to school and collages, private and government companies are the locations that the agency has planned to construct the kiosks.
The kiosks will be on four square meters of land. They will be given to entrepreneurs who submit their business proposals to the agency. The agency will then select the best proposals for working in the mini-shops.
Fast food, electronic maintenance, books, cosmetics, cultural and traditional clothes, will be sold in the kiosks that will be made with sheet metal.
The construction of the kiosk and the installation of the solar panel will be given soon to companies after the approval of the budget by the city council.
Asmerom Berehan, Work Place Development and Administration Agency head told Capital that the kiosk will be given to the entrepreneurs on a rental based agreement.
“We don’t want them to stick in the kiosk forever; they must leave it after five years to let others do another business in the shops. Sitting without a job is not the needed subject to get the kiosk one must bring a good business plan that benefits them and they city.’’
“We are planning to use a business model that enables a local entrepreneur to sell products and provide solar powered services to their community. It is a commercial plan which stations solar-powered units in kiosks in Addis’s center and outskirt urban areas, thus creating a triple impact: social, environmental and economic.
Currently over 9,000 metal shops, nicknamed after former Mayor, Arkebe Oqubay, are working as mini business under the title of small and micro-enterprise.
On July 15th, first Solar Kiosk was officially opened near Lake Langano. The portable solar shop was designed in Germany by Graft Architects and sells energy, products, tools and services.
Solar kiosks are also opening in Tanzania, Rwanda, Botswana and Ghana.

Experts and policy makers from throughout the world gathered for Cairo Water Week (CWW) at the Nile Ritz Carlton Hotel from October 14 to 18 to hold talks and present scientific papers. The theme was ‘Water Conservation for Sustainable Development’. There were five sub themes which featured topics presented by well-known regional and international organizations.
One of these sub themes was ‘water management for sustainable development’ which included several topics about integrating the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It focused on presenting innovative solutions on water related management, sharing experience on integrated water management, and addressing new approaches of using and properly managing non-conventional water resources.
Climate change and the environment was another of the five sub topics that grabbed significant attention and featured talks from experts.
Since the issue has become a major challenge for the world the climate and environment and its impact on water resources and livelihood it has been shared on the week with sharing of good water management that shall mitigate the challenge and presenting cases and success stories.
The trans-boundary water governance and benefit sharing was also discussed during the water week. The sub theme talked about the governance challenges on trans-boundary cooperation in relation to climate change adaptation and water scarcity. Others experiences like USA and Mexico have been shared in relation to trans-boundary water resource cooperation.
In this sub theme the project that runs in Ethiopia, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which is built on Tiqur Abay (Blue Nile), was discussed.
The water scarcity, health, sanitation challenges and opportunities, and science, technology and innovation were the other sub topics covered during the five day international event. Besides the discussion sessions, exhibitions were also opened.
According to the organizers, CWW is considered the biggest water related event in Egypt and is planned to be organized annually by the ministry of water Resources and Irrigation in collaboration with national, regional and international partners.
Parallel with the CWW and stated sub topics several regional and international events like the first African Water Young Professionals Forum were undertaken. The Delta Coalition which is comprised of 13 countries including Egypt also held its 3rd the ministerial meeting. The Coalition is a platform for discussion, exchange, innovation and creativity between the participating members and observers contributing as much as possible to the agreed objectives.
In addition the first EU-Egypt water cooperation day was held for two days from October 17. The cooperation day including the water business forum which includes representatives from the Egyptian and European private sectors, government bodies and key figures from the water sector with the aim to determine water’s key role in achieving sustainable economic growth and how to best meet with increasing demands and scarce resources.
The event organizer said that the activities included plenary sessions, technical sessions, workshops and special events convened with more than 20 international, regional and national organizations, and more than 30 international speakers. Around one thousand participants gathered worldwide.
The event took place through the patronage of President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi.