During the visit to Nigeria and Ghana on 12–14 August, Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will, together with representatives of the other Nordic countries, meet Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Maitama Tuggar as well as Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo and Minister for Foreign Affairs Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey. The delegation will also meet with CSOs and representatives of Nordic companies in both countries. The topics of the meetings will be global security and multilateral cooperation, trade and investments, climate change and the green transition, and regional security issues and development in Western Africa.

African countries play a significant role in international politics, and their commercial and economic significance has further increased. By cooperating with countries such as Nigeria and Ghana, we can make significant progress in the fight against global security challenges and climate change, for example. Furthermore, I see potential, one that will benefit all parties, in deepening the commercial relations between our countries. For example, Finnish companies can provide a wide range of services, products and innovations that could be useful in promoting digitalisation and the green transition in these countries,” Minister Valtonen says.

All Nordic countries wish to deepen their cooperation with African partners. In addition to the joint Nordic visit, cooperation is promoted within the framework of the annual Nordic–African Foreign Ministers’ Meetings, the most recent of which was held in Copenhagen, Denmark on 2 May 2024.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.

His Majesty King Mohammed VI has sent a congratulatory message to President of the Republic of Singapore, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, on his country’s National Day.

In this message, the Sovereign expresses His warmest congratulations and best wishes for good health and happiness to Shanmugaratnam, wishing further progress and prosperity to the people of Singapore.

“I should like to take this opportunity to commend the relations rooted in close friendship and mutual esteem between our countries and to say how keen I am to continue working with Your Excellency so as to strengthen and expand our cooperation, for the mutual benefit of our peoples,” HM the King says.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kingdom of Morocco – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates.

UN Women organized a five-day (July 29 to August 2) Peace Champions training as part of the project, “Promoting the participation and leadership of women and girls in peace, security, and recovery in Mozambique”. With financial support from the Government of the Kingdom of Norway, the project aims to ensure that women and girls are actively involved in peacebuilding and recovery efforts in four conflict-affected provinces: Manica, Sofala, Cabo Delgado, and Nampula. Women are disproportionately affected in conflict situations and have a fundamental role to play in these processes.

Hadassa Nazaré, a social activist and one of the beneficiaries of the Peace Champions training, intends to use her newly acquired knowledge to ensure that more women are actively involved in conflict prevention and resolution upon returning to her province, “I exchanged many experiences with other participants and learned a lot about gender and conflict resolution, which is a very relevant topic since the province where I live, Cabo Delgado, has been facing several conflicts, including armed conflict since 2017,” she said.

The 15 female and 2 male Peace Champions, aged 20 – 70 years, are activists for peace consolidation and human rights from all provinces of the country who actively work to promote and maintain peace, defend human rights in the context of conflict, and contribute to the overall well-being of their communities.

The participants were trained in various areas for the promotion of peace and security, namely: Human Rights and Conflict Mediation (including the identification of potential conflicts and establishing contacts with relevant institutions and individuals useful in resolving conflicts and violence against women and girls), Leadership Development and Advocacy, Gender-Sensitive Approach, and the Use of Social Networks for Peace Promotion. One of the key outcomes was the production of individual and provincial action plans that will guide the interventions in their communities, in coordination with UN Women.

UN Women Representative, Dr. Laetitia Kayisire, who opened the event, encouraged the training participants to use the acquired knowledge to enhance the work they have been doing and continue to generate impact in their communities, adding that, “Your mission is noble and essential for building a more just, peaceful, and equal society.”

This training is part of UN Women’s ongoing efforts to implement the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda in Mozambique, creating an environment where sustainable peace can flourish and where women and girls can fully exercise their rights and potential.

UN Women and its partners reaffirm their commitment to supporting initiatives that strengthen the participation and leadership of women and girls in building lasting peace in Mozambique.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN Women – Africa.

The Government of Zimbabwe, through the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) has officially declared an end to a protracted cholera outbreak that began on 12 February 2023. The declaration was made in line with Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) guidelines following zero reports of cholera cases in Zimbabwe for more than four consecutive weeks.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care wishes to notify WHO that the cholera outbreak, which was first reported on 12 February 2023 in Chegutu District is now declared over after a protracted 18 months of response,” noted MoHCC the Permanent Secretary Dr Aspect Maunganidze in a letter to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Zimbabwe.

The cholera outbreak was reported in all the country’s 10 provinces, with 62 districts affected. Through implementation of multi-faceted interventions, the outbreak has now been contained. The last case of cholera was reported on 30 June 2024 and the country had recorded 34 549 suspected cholera cases, 4 217 confirmed cases and 33 831 recoveries. Cumulative deaths reported were 718 with 87 being laboratory confirmed and 631 suspected deaths. The Case fatality Rate was 2.1%.

WHO played a critical role in supporting Zimbabwe’s response to the cholera outbreak. Essential medical supplies worth close to $1 million were procured and handed over to MoHCC to scale up response activities. In addition, cholera treatment centres and units were also put in place and 4,083 health workers trained in case management, water quality testing, laboratory testing, infection, prevention and control (IPC) within CTCs as well as in surveillance.  WHO was also responsible for partner coordination to avoid duplication of efforts and promote optimal use of resources.

WHO also supported risk communication and community engagement activities to raise awareness about cholera prevention and treatment. Furthermore, WHO provided support for the two rounds of the oral cholera vaccines (OCV) vaccination campaigns, where over 2.4 million doses of OCV were administered. WHO also provided technical expertise, and personnel to bolster the country’s capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to the epidemic. WHO Regional Office for Africa and Headquarters deployed 14 surge experts to support the response while 12 WHO Zimbabwe staff were repurposed to reinforce the cholera response.

While we celebrate this significant milestone, it is crucial to acknowledge the challenges that lie ahead,” said Dr Desta Tiruneh, WHO Representative to Zimbabwe. He added, “Strengthening our health systems and investing in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure are essential to prevent future outbreaks. We must build on the lessons learned from this experience to create a more resilient health system.”

Funding for the overall cholera response came from various donors including the Contigency Funds for Emergencies (CFE), the Health Resilience Fund, (a pool of funding from European Union, GAVI, The Vaccine Alliance, as well as the Governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom), the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, the Russian Federation as well as USAID. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organzation (WHO) – Zimbabwe.