The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) health ministerial meeting on refugees and other cross-border programs was held at the Hilton Hotel this week. The meeting focused on discussing and endorsing the validation of the IGAD HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria strategic plan for 2018-2025.
During the opening session of the meeting Yifru Berhan, Minister of Health, stated that the IGAD region, with its Member States is often plagued by frequent, protracted and violent conflicts.
“Our borders are porous allowing a huge cross border movement of people. The region is severely affected by a high level burden of health problems, such as HIV, TB, malaria, other non-communicable diseases including cancer. Maternal and child deaths in our region are the highest globally which increasingly kill more people in the region,” the Minister said.
He further underlined that cross-border mobile population, including refugees’ health matters need special thoughtfulness, whereby IGAD with Global Fund support that started implementing the TB HIV program in 31 refugee camps of IGAD member States is very impressive with good prospects.
“In addition, the current IGAD Regional Strategic Plan for 2018 – 2025 was prepared with the support of the Global Fund in order to scale up and strengthen the cross-border health programs to all vulnerable groups including pastoralists and cross-border mobile populations, refugees, Internally Displaced populations (IDPs), returnees and the host communities in our region,” he also said.
The Minister called up on all Members of States to support all the vital regional Health Programs, particularly the intervention towards addressing the health needs of refugees, returnees, IDPs, pastoralists and cross-border mobile population.
“Our Ministerial Meeting is now expected to endorse the IGAD Regional Strategic Plan for 2018 – 2025, the guidance for TB HIV services in the refugee settings and support the Global Fund Request for Regional Application,” he added.
The meeting also called upon Ministers to integrate refugee health issues and others mobile population in their national health system. It also appealed to health ministers, especial in Ethiopia to provide support for the establishment of the cancer center of excellence for the benefit of people in the region.
A call for Development Partners to support health program particularly refugees and also the capacity of IGAD to sustain the health programs and address intractable health problems including outbreaks as well as for countries to support each other especially support Somalia and South Sudan in human resources development, was also made.
IGAD health ministerial meeting focuses on strategy to tackle cross border diseases
Six produce items pushed for export market
The Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA) in collaboration with Enterprise Partners has developed crop factsheets on six potential export fruits and vegetables.
The Association stated that the fruits and vegetables have the potential to earn a great deal of hard currency. According to the factsheets, the crops include: mangos, pumpkins, strawberries, papaya, avocados and melons
Yemisrach Berhanu, Promotion and information Service Head at EHPEA, told Capital that the factsheets aim to promote the fruits and vegetables which are in high demand abroad. .
The factsheets disseminated on the workshop held at Capital Hotel on Friday March 23 stated: “it is expected that horticulture investors already engaged in the fruit, vegetable and herb sector will include and expand these products in their production, small scale farmers need to grow these items,” Yemisrach said.
At the workshop members of the Association, small scale growers and suppliers attended as well as relevant government officials.
During his speech AdugnabDebela (PhD), deputy Chief Executive Officer of the newly formed Ethiopian Horticulture and Agricultural Investment Authority, said that for potential investors interested in producing these commodities, the Ethiopian government has identified six horticulture development corridors. These include: Addis Ababa-Oromia, Hawassa-Arba Minch, Awash- Dire Dawa and Harrar, Bahir Dar Nile Gorge and South Gondar, as well as Mekele- Raya and Alamata.
“These areas are identified and selected based on the criteria of a favorable ecosystem that includes the availability of potential land, labor, water, logistical infrastructures, and nearness to various transport systems, including air transport, railway lines and location to a potential port of exit,” he added.
According to the deputy head of the Authority, the government has developed a special incentive scheme to attract potential investors on those identified clusters. Even though the fruit and vegetable sector has not grown as much as anticipated, it has expanded in the past few years. For instance Ethiopian strawberries now are attracting larger horticulture companies. Recently the number of strawberry producers has climbed to 13 from almost nil a decade ago.
According to EHPEA, horticulture produce is a high value item with a diversity of fruits and vegetables that the international market wants; such growth provides major opportunities for growers and retailers to diversify and increase their competitive advantages in the international market.
In its statement the Association stated that the country has both the competitive and comparative advantage to become production and export leaders of fruit and vegetables, due to its proximity to the international market.
In the past budget year the country has earned hard currency from fruits and vegetables that has grown 16 percent.
The factsheets included details about the crops, competitors, potential markets, and other required data.
Innovation Africa Digital Summit focuses on access
The 16th Innovation Africa Digital Summit officially kicked off on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 at the Sheraton Hotel. It was held under the theme ‘Access, Engagement and Retention’ and attracted policy makers, service and solution providers, major end users and investors.
“Studies made by the World Bank estimate that economic growth goes up 1.3 percent when high speed Internet connections rise by 10 percent. Facts like these have led Ethiopia to prioritize ICT infrastructure in its developmental agenda. Significant ICT transformations brought by the National ICT backbone are enormous especially those that serve as a tool in facilitation for the creation of a knowledge society and minimizing the digital divide, particularly in the rural areas,” said State Minister of Minister of Communication and IT Getachew Negash in his opening speech.
The State Minister underlined that Ethiopia has embarked on a transformative and digitally enabled journey to become a middle-income country with a climate resilient green economy by 2025.
To achieve the ambitious targets set in Ethiopia’s current five-year national Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II) that fall between 2015-2020, the Government has already begun to leverage the power of digitalization to unleash investment, enable innovation, empower entrepreneurs, improve efficiency, promote collaboration, integrate and accelerate service delivery and realize unprecedented growth.
“As part of the initiative to the journey for industrialization, the Government of Ethiopia has also taken serious commitments on realization of manufacturing sector because it is a principal driver of the country’s economic development. Several ICT industry development platforms are in place to harmonize the initiatives of the private sector development ecosystem, and the direction taken by the government for establishing different industry and technology parks,” Getachew said.
He further said that positive results have been registered with regards to the manufacturing of ICT products and services over the last two years. Ethiopia has been exporting assembled mobile devices to African countries.
This event was unique because it provided a platform for learning how to access, engage, and retain important solutions through an innovative blend of workshops, advisory clinics, conference and facilitated networking.
Signing of African Continental Free Trade Area agreement expected to boost African trade by 52 %
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement was signed by 44 nations including Ethiopia, in Kigali Rwanda on Wednesday, March 21, 2018. The agreement that was signed during the 10thExtraordinary Session of the Assembly on AfCFTA is expected to set up a large free trade area to boost economic growth and improve regional integration across Africa.
The agreement commits countries to removing tariffs on 90 percent of goods, with 10 percent of “sensitive items” to be phased in later. The agreement will also liberalize trade in services and might in the future include free movement of people and a single currency.
“With the signature of the Kigali Declaration for the Launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area, Africa makes a giant stride forward in continental integration, in the pan-African vision, and in the development of our continent,” said Vera Songwe, the Executive Secretary of the ECA during the signing ceremony.
Songwe also noted that the historical moment shows the resolve of African leaders to bring the continent’s diversity together and make the flagship project of the African Union Agenda 2063 a reality.
It is stated that while 44 countries signed the AfCFTA, a total of 50 nations have signed either the agreement or the Kigali deceleration underscoring their commitment to the agreement,which aims at doubling intra-African trade by removing non-tariff and tariff barriers on goods and services.
It was further said that 27 countries also signed the separate African Union Protocol on Free Movement of People, which complements the AfCFTA by providing for visa-free travel, the right of residency and the right of business or professional establishment, for citizens between signatory countries.
”The AfCFTA was the culmination of a vision set forth nearly 40 years ago in the Lagos plan of action adopted in 1980”, for a continent-wide market,” stated President of Rwanda Paul Kagame in his key note address.
Also speaking during the historical ceremony attended by 19 heads of state, and additional prime ministers and foreign ministers, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission stated that “Africa is a sleeping giant that can’t wake up if the continent is divided. It’s time to accelerate the pace of integration, as international competition leaves no room for the weak”, and he called upon African Member States to also sign the Protocol on the free movement of persons, enabling the creation of an African passport.
According to the ECA, among the key beneficiaries will be small and medium sized enterprises, accounting for 80 percent of the region’s businesses; women, who represent 70 percent of the informal cross-border traders; and the youth, who will be able to find new employment opportunities.
ECA estimates that AfCFTA has the potential both to boost intra-African trade by 52.3 percent by eliminating import duties, and to double this trade if non-tariff barriers are also reduced.
The agreement brings together 1.2 billion people with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of over 2 trillion USD.
