Over 74 companies from 13 countries including places from Djibouti, Italy, Sudan, India, China and Korea came to the 22nd Addis Chamber International Trade Fair that opened last Thursday at the Addis Ababa Exhibition Centre. It is one of the oldest business fairs in the country and Elias Genete, president of the chamber called it a crucial event because he says it attracts global businesses that want to invest or expand in Ethiopia.
According to the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association, the organizer of the event, several companies that work with the ports in Djibouti were among the foreign exhibiters. The Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority, Doraleh Multipurpose Port and other companies from Djibouti were involved in the seven day event.

Ethiopia ranked 116th out of 136 countries on the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index. The Index that is published by the World Economic Forum measures the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable development of the travel and tourism sector, which in turn, contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country.
The report also ranks the country at 118th for doing business environment, 99th place for safety and security 102th for health and hygiene, 125th for human resources and the labor market, 125th for ICT readiness, 115th on prioritization of tourism and travel and 97th on for international openness, among other ratings.
According to the report in 2017 there were 864,000 tourists who came to Ethiopia and international tourism inbound monetary receipts amounted to USD 394.9 million. Findings also show that the travel and tourism sector employs over one million people and is 4.1 percent of the GDP.
Regarding air travel, the index states that the countries that have been more active in signing bilateral agreements-Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa-have been able to create strong state-owned carriers. Some countries in West Africa rely on privately owned companies, while all other African countries still maintain unprofitable, inefficient and insecure publicly-owned national companies.
“Recently, the five countries with strong national carriers, private operators and small state-owned operators committed to a Single African Air Transport Market that should enter into force by the end of 2017. Air transport in particular, and transport infrastructure generally, remain, to date, the biggest challenges for travel & tourism development in Africa,” it reads.
The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index enables stakeholders to work together to improve the industry’s competitiveness in their national economies. The theme of the current edition “Paving the Way for a More Sustainable and Inclusive Future”, reflects the increasing focus on ensuring the industry’s sustained growth in an uncertain security environment while preserving the natural environment and local communities on which it so richly depends.

One in every 36 babies dies in Ethiopia according to a UNICEF report comparing newborn mortality in different countries. Pakistan and the Central African Republic are the worst performers.
“While we have more than halved the number of deaths among children under the age of five in the last quarter century, we have not made similar progress in ending deaths among children less than one month old. The majority of these deaths are preventable so clearly we are failing the world’s poorest babies, “said Henrietta H. Fore, UNICEF’s Executive Director.
Ethiopia is the second largest country in Africa with a total population of 94 million, out of which 13 million are under five years of age. Despite making overall progress in child survival, deaths among newborn babies still remains high.
At 29 deaths per 1,000 live births, newborn mortality accounts for 44 per cent of all under five deaths. The new report indicates that in 2016 alone, 90,000 newborn babies died in Ethiopia, ranking the country among 10 high burden countries globally.
In recognition of the need to accelerate newborn survival, the Ethiopian government has put newborn survival at the centre of the Health Sector Development Plan.
It has developed the Newborn and Child Survival Strategy (2015-2020) to strengthen the capacity of the health system and the skills of health workers to deliver quality health care to every mother and newborn baby. This includes the provision of quality antenatal care, skilled delivery, essential newborn care, postnatal care and neonatal intensive care for sick neonates.
Globally, in low-income countries, the average newborn mortality rate is 27 deaths per 1,000 births, the report says. In high-income countries, that rate is 3 deaths per 1,000. Newborns from the riskiest places to give birth are up to 50 times more likely to die than those from the safest places.
More than 80 per cent of newborn deaths are due to prematurity, complications during birth or infections such as pneumonia and sepsis, the report says. These deaths can be prevented with access to well-trained midwives, along with proven solutions like clean water, disinfectants, breastfeeding within the first hour, skin-to-skin contact and good nutrition.
However, a shortage of well-trained health workers and midwives means that thousands don’t receive the life-saving support they need to survive. For example, while in Norway there are 218 doctors, nurses and midwives to serve 10,000 people, that ratio is 1 per 10,000 in Somalia.

Vendors must have permit

The Addis Ababa Trade Bureau which recently had a street trade policy approved by the city council told Capital that it looked at every sub city and identified 45 potential locations for street vendors to conduct business legally.
They picked these places largely because they had low traffic congestion, asphalt roads, and open spaces. So far 19,000 vendors have registered to work in these places.
When these designated street vending locations open up vendors will be allowed to sell small electronic items like watches, mobiles and sockets; they also will be able to sell electrical wires, tape, and beverages like packed juices and soft drinks.
There will also be places to sell clothing and street foods like biscuits, chips, sweet candies and snack foods.
Of the 45 potential spots eight are located in Kirkos and will open in 14 days. By the end of the Ethiopian year the 37 additional vending spots should be open for business.
Recently the Addis Ababa Trade Bureau established a department to handle street trading in the city and they are currently hiring staff to run it.
The street trading department will have more than 2,000 staff. Some will work in the central office while others will work in the Weredas or work alongside transportation, customs, roads, police, traffic beatification and parks bureaus to properly manage street vendors.
Birhanu Tegegn, Trade License Registration Director at the Trade Bureau told Capital that how long and when the vending places are open depends on the traffic congestion.
A month ago staff from the city administration traveled to Bangkok to learn how that city dealt with street trading.
“Some places will be open Monday through Sunday as long as it doesn’t impact traffic. If traffic congestion occurs we will limit the vending to nights and weekends. We will do that because we don’t want to disturb people and the movement of cars around the area.’’
He added that vendors working on the street must have a license.
“For a long time we didn’t have designated street vending areas but now we are ready to do this so what they need to do is to have a permit card displayed. That card will state their name, type of business they are conducting, the area they are allowed to operate in and the legal stamp from the bureau. If they operate without this permit they will face legal action including having what they are selling confiscated and possible imprisonment,” he added.
He stated that they also must be residents of Addis Ababa. Although the mayor’s office plans to discuss how to handle street vendors who are not residents of Addis Ababa.
Previously the city administration designated places like Megenagna, Six Killo, and Kolfe for street vending but many ignored this and sold their items in other places.
Today, street vendors in Addis sell jewelry, electronic gadgets, fruits and vegetables, second hand clothing including underwear and other items.
The exact number of vendors in the city is unknown but a 2014 random study indicated that there were 87,000 street vendors at that time now it is estimated that there are over 117,000 vendors working on the street without paying taxes or holding any license.
The streets of Addis Ababa are becoming vibrant and crowded, especially after work-hours, with street vendors selling different items.
Thus, in the evenings, the pedestrian walks are crowded with sellers and buyers bending down to look at various products and trying to decide if they want to buy them. This happens throughout Addis Ababa. The new method of handling street vendors is expected to help unclog the walkways. Some research has indicated that street vending represents a significant share of the informal urban economy. Poverty and high levels of unemployment in the city have seen the number of street vendors increase as they take up street trading as a means of survival or to better their economic situation.